He Said She Said
by iluvarcticmonkeys
Summary: Everyone has their own side to a story, but when it comes to Casey and Derek, it gets a bit more complicated than that. Roadtrips, Theme Parks, Talk Shows. Things are gonna get cRaZy... DASEY
1. The Blame Game

**He Said She Said**

A/N: So after I finished "What Casey Wants", I was _killing_ myself to think of a new storyline for my latest fic! Then my brother showed me an episode of South Park and it clicked. Ok, so South Park doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, but the scene I was watching just gave me an idea. Plus I had already had a partial idea floating around in my head so I connected the two and BAM. Hope ya like :) P.S. When the story goes into italics, we're in flashback/storytelling mode!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Life with Derek, I would have access to Michael Seater, which means there would be a full-page kidnapping story in the local paper.

**Chapter 1: The Blame Game**

Not one word had been spoken yet that day. They had woken up early, rushed around the house, sat sullen and quiet in the car, and were now on opposite ends of the couch that sat in the green room. Arms folded, both teens stared at the wall, glaring.

The tension in the room was let out when a man burst through the door, headset on and clipboard in hand. "Miss McDonald, you'll be going on first. Come with me please." He impatiently motioned for her to follow him.

Casey glanced back at Derek before heading for the door. Derek sat up, about to protest, but the door slammed in his face. He sat back in a huff, rolling his eyes at the possibility of Casey being the first one to tell her side of the story.

The man stopped abruptly behind the stage door and told Casey to wait for her cue. She took a deep breath and began wringing her hands in nervous anticipation. This all seemed a bit extreme. It wasn't even her idea, yet George and Nora saw the opportunity and jumped at it, eagerly hoping for some peace and settlement in the house.

Out on the stage, the makeup crew was making final additions to the host as the audience took their seats. Everyone scurried off the stage as a man on set warned for a minute left. The cameraman did one last adjustment to the shot as the man held up his hand and counted down the seconds on his fingers. 3…2…1…

The crowd began cheering as the host came into focus with a warm smile. "Thank you! We have a _great_ show lined up for you lucky people this morning! Today I want to focus on troubles within the families. We're going to be talking to some people that have had their fair share of fights with another person that they're forced to share a house with. And we're going to fix the fighting, because…" She pointed at the audience and they all cried out in unison: "Connie Says So!"

Connie smiled at the reaction and pulled out her cue cards. "Our first guest today is a young lady who isn't exactly happy with her latest lifestyle. She claims that ever since she's been forced into her new home, someone has been trying to force her back out. Let's all give a warm welcome to Casey McDonald!" Connie applauded with the audience as the stage door swung open.

The man Casey had followed motioned for her to make her entrance. Although she wanted nothing more than to run away, it was a little too late now. She hesitantly began to walk towards the little "living room" setup on the stage where the host waited to greet her. Casey had to admit that she didn't exactly mind all the cheers and attention the audience was giving her.

When she finally reached Connie, they shook hands and took a seat; Casey sat on the white couch and Connie sat on her right in a sleek leather chair. The crowd finally began to die down and Connie turned towards Casey with a serious "let's talk" look etched across her face.

"Now Casey, from what I understand, your mother, Nora, has remarried about seven months ago to George Venturi. What has this change done for you?" Connie sat patiently, waiting for a response to analyze.

Casey turned away for a minute and looked out into the audience at her mom and George who were seated in the front row. They were clasping hands and smiled at Casey, assuring to her that it was ok for her to say whatever she needed to. She then looked into the camera and could just picture Lizzie, Edwin and Marti at her grandmother's house, eyes glued to the TV and butts glued to the couch as they waited for Casey's response.

She took a deep breath for what seemed the ten billionth time that day before turning back to Connie. "Well, at first I wasn't happy about any of it. I mean, I hated leaving my old school, my friends, our condo, and of course my Dad. And all to move in with these people who were practically strangers to me! But almost everyone has made me feel a little more comfortable and I kind of like where I am right now. I've made a great friend-" Casey suddenly turned towards the camera and waved enthusiastically. "Hi Emily!" She smiled. "Sorry, I promised her I would do that" Casey laughed nervously.

"It's alright! But Casey, I'm going to have to stop you there and ask what you meant by "almost everyone" making you feel more comfortable in the new house. Does this possibly have anything to do with one of your new siblings?"

Casey immediately scoffed at this, but then slumped down, embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just I don't really consider him to be family. At all. He's more like the person who lives to torture me about the fact that I exist. You know, like Satan? Except he's a stupid, arrogant jock that'll chase anything with a skirt and has the IQ of a goldfish, much like the bimbos he's always making out with."

The crowd responded with collected "ooooh"s at Casey's insult-filled description. "This isn't exactly a description of your other stepbrother, Edwin, is it? Why don't you tell us exactly who it is you hate so much?"  
Casey looked towards the audience and cameras with a menacing glare.

"Derek."

Derek looked up from his intense staring contest with the floor. The man with the headset had returned in the doorway. "You're up next, let's go." He sighed and heaved himself off the couch as he followed the man to the stage door Casey had stood at moments ago. As soon as the signal was given, Derek plastered that infamous smirk to his face and headed for the stage.

Casey was simply appalled at all the catcalls the girls in the audience were sending to Derek. Weren't they just cheering for _her_ a second ago?! 'Typical' Casey thought bitterly as Derek plopped down on her left side. The smirk was even wider now due to his popular response and she suddenly had an extreme urge to smack it off of his face when he turned to look at her.

Casey scooted farther away from Derek, which didn't seem too possible since she was already up against the arm of the couch. 'Damn the size of these loveseats!' Casey angrily spat in her mind. Derek's leg was practically touching hers and she immediately crossed her left leg over her right to avoid the contact.

"Hello, Derek. It's nice to meet you." Connie even seemed to fall under Derek's charms.

"Likewise, Connie." He replied smoothly. Casey held in a gag.

"Now Derek," she tried to scold, though she had a big smile on her face. "You haven't exactly been the best new brother to Casey, correct?"

"_Step_brother" he corrected immediately. "And I would have to say I disagree. I believe that Casey's the one who's showing no effort at my attempts to try and get along."

Casey couldn't take the silent treatment any longer and snapped her head towards Derek. "As _if_!" Casey practically screeched at him. "You're always making my life a living Hell so you can go be happy in your little fantasy world where people are deluded into thinking that you're some kind of a god!"

Derek didn't respond. He just continued his pity act and shook his head sadly. On the inside, he was cracking up. It was too easy to get a rise out of her and even easier to get everyone on his side. Why did he ever worry about what Casey would say about him? He had this audience in the palm of his hands; he was even pretty sure he heard some booing from his girl fans at Casey's outburst.

She let out a loud, angry "ugh!" before crossing her arms and sinking back into the couch cushions like a little girl throwing a tantrum. She didn't care how it looked; she was pissed. He always got what he wanted and somehow always ended up the victim. It was sickening.

Connie's eyes widened and she cleared her throat before attempting to cut the tension that was building up once more. "Casey, Derek has just said that he's made attempts at creating peace between you two. Why haven't you accepted his offer?"

Casey openly rolled her eyes at this. "The only thing Derek's attempted is trying to blind me with shampoo and sabotage all my relationships. This is strictly an act! We're talking about the same guy that saw me fall down a flight of stairs and had the rest of the school label me as "Klutzilla"! I don't even know where to begin on the whole Planet Joyride drama."

Derek shot Casey a sideways glare. He knew this topic would come up eventually. It was, after all, the whole reason they were on this stupid talk show, but he really, _really_ didn't feel like discussing it.

Casey smiled triumphantly at the look on Derek's face. She knew this was the last topic of conversation he would want to hear and though she wasn't thrilled about it either, she would be willing to do anything to get under his skin for a second.

"What exactly is Casey talking about, Derek?" Connie asked curiously. He just sat there, arms crossed and leaning back, similar to Casey's previous position. Casey was now sitting up straight and proud, looking towards Derek expectantly.

"Oh, come on now Derek. You don't have to be shy." Casey chided. She held him under her glare, but he refused to squirm. He readjusted his position so that he was just above eye level with Casey as he grinned down at her.

"Who said I was? If these people want to hear a story, I'd be happy to give them one."

The crowd cheered in agreement and it was now Derek's turn to smirk triumphantly as a look of uncertainty flashed across Casey's face. Maybe this wasn't her best idea. Who knows what he was willing to say about the whole event. Lord of the Lies wasn't exactly a reassuring title.

Derek cleared his throat dramatically before turning to Connie. "What Casey is referring to is a little incident that happened about a week ago. You see-"

""_Little Incident_?" Is _that_ what you call it? It was hardly-"

Derek brought a hand up to silence her. "Casey, please. I'm in the middle of a story." Casey groaned and looked at Connie who told Derek to finish his story. "Thank you." He replied. "Now as I was_ saying_, this whole thing started about a week ago. It was the long weekend so our family decided to take a trip down to Planet Joyride…"

_"Dad! I can't fit my suitcase in the trunk! Casey's crap is taking up all the space!" Derek yelled towards the house. They would only be gone for two days; was it necessary for her to bring everything she owned?_

"Hey! My stuff is not '_crap'. I actually like to be prepared for the weekend with useful necessities that I need, unlike some people who are completely repulsive and think they can get away with wearing the same pair of boxers for three days straight if they flip them inside out!" Casey shot back._

"I'm just trying to help the planet out. Why waste energy with a washing machine? Besides, I still don't think you gave me a good reason as to why you're bringing four_ suitcases…and a rubber ducky?" Derek pulled the toy out of one of the suitcase pockets and squeaked it at Casey. "So this is what a necessity looks like?" He laughed._

"That's Marti's," she mumbled angrily.

"Ok, you two. Enough. Derek, there's plenty of room, just throw your suitcase in there and get in the van!" George was tired of playing referee. The rest of the family had followed him out to the car after locking up all the doors and windows. Their stuff was already packed into the trunk. Derek sighed and jammed his bag in the tiny spot that was left before slamming the trunk closed and sliding open the back door.

'Oh Joy.' Derek thought sarcastically as he found the only seat available to be next to the Princess. Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti had squeezed into the first row of seats so they could avoid the war zone that Derek and Casey would create in the back row.

After running off the checklist twice, Casey reluctantly let George start the engine and head off for their four-hour trip to Planet Joyride. It was an amusement park farther north that the Venturis had gone to every year. Now the McDonalds were part of the tradition and Derek suddenly took a disliking to the trip that he had looked forward to every year. Casey wasn't too pleased about it either. Time spent with Derek wasn't exactly time well spent.

Derek pulled his iPod out of the pocket of his leather jacket and jammed the ear buds in place. Just because he was being forced to sit next to Miss Priss in the uncomfortable closeness of the back seat didn't mean he had to listen to her complain incessantly. The sounds of The Awesome Team's "Sayonara" filled his ears as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Derek felt his hand brush over Casey's, but he didn't bother to move it. He was too comfortable and he knew it would bug the hell out of her. After what seemed to be a full thirty seconds, Derek felt a sharp jab in his right arm.

"So Casey freaks out because I had accidentally touched her or something and then she takes the pen she was using on her crazy checklist and stabs me in the arm with it!"

"Objection!" Casey cried out. "I merely hit you on the arm with it and I didn't even use the pointy side, you wimp! I had to do _something_ to get you off of me. You were trying to piss me off and I wasn't about to just sit there and take it! And I would also like to point out that I have never owned a rubber ducky in my life!"

"Ok, first of all, this isn't a courtroom Judge Judy. And secondly, it's not my fault that you were practically taking up the whole back seat so that I had no choice but to put my hand _somewhere_. I think you're the one that was trying to piss _me_ off."

Both of them neglected to say what they were really thinking then:

_Casey was glaring out the window as she watched the house slowly disappear behind them. Derek had started his music up and was sprawled out onto the seat. She rolled her eyes at him._

'I will not let Derek's attempts at blasting his music and taking up the entire back row of seats bother me. I will not. That's only what he wants is for me to get upset. I won't let anything he does affect me.' Casey recited this mantra in her head but was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt Derek's hand fall on top of hers.

She looked down over at Derek who had his eyes closed. She couldn't really tell if he had done it on purpose, but his hand continued to lie there. Casey couldn't understand why at that moment she felt a tingling feeling that caused goose bumps to run all the way up her arm. So much for not letting him get to her. She panicked and grabbed her pen.

Derek was fully aware of where his hand was resting. He hadn't planned for it to be there, but he was just trying to get comfortable. He found it a little weird that the feel of her hand under his made his fingertips burn a little and a chill ran up his spine, but he convinced himself that the van's AC was just cranked up too high. Even though he passed the feeling off, he still didn't move his hand and he wasn't sure why. Next thing he knew, a pen had begun attacking his arm.

"I did NOT take up the back seat! Are you trying to call me fat?!"

"I didn't try and call you anything. Assume what you want."

Derek left his innocent act behind as he started to get into this debate with Casey. They had almost completely forgotten where they were and that millions of people were watching their every move. It was as if they were back home on that disgusting couch with the remote control gripped firmly between them.

"You are! How dare you! _You're_ the one that had to sprawl yourself all over me in order to even fit in the backseat so let's not even start on who has the weight issue here." Casey was seething with annoyance.

"Ha! Sprawl myself all over you? In your dreams, Case. I was practically huddled in the corner so I wouldn't be anywhere near you. I hear that once you touch the Ice Queen's skin, you're frozen for eternity. Either that or you become a grade grubbing perfectionist with no social life."

"If you were _ever_ in my dreams, I wouldn't be here, I would be getting a cat scan!"

"I don't think it would come as a surprise to you when your results returned and concluded that you're a totally psychotic, delusional freak!"

They were now standing in front of the couch practically screaming at each other, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Connie nervously tried to interrupt the fight, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. The audience was going mad in the background, picking sides and cheering the fight on.

Not knowing what else to do, Connie motioned for the cameraman to direct the focus on her as she walked towards the end of the stage.

"Um, ok then. We'll be back after these short messages."

Connie turned back around to the crazy brawl as the commercials were played and let out an exasperated sigh. "They don't pay me enough for this."__

**This is merely a glimpse of what's to come! I hope you guys like the idea and it will get a lot better from here once the story heats up.**_  
_**I hope I can still keep the title of this story, because I recently saw the same title for a Dasey last night but now it's gone! If it comes back, I will gladly admit defeat and change it though! Oh and you know that band that Derek is listening to on his iPod? The Awesome Team? Well, that was the name of the band on Derek's shirt in "The Bet" episode and I looked them up after the episode aired and they are in fact awesome. I wonder if that was one of Michael's shirts…hmmmm.  
REVIEW!!!! It takes like, two seconds.  
xo, Christina**


	2. Are We There Yet?

**He Said She Said**

A/N: Only a week after my last story, I've already forgotten how good it feels to get reviews. You guys ROCK. So, I don't know if any of you are getting confused on the whole flashback situation, but whichever character begins to tell the story, it's kind of from their point of view and then I'll add in another flashback later that tells you something they left out which is in no one's POV and from now on that will be inside a border. Hope that helps…? I also have to tell everyone that has a myspace to **_go and join my Dasey group_**! The link is on my fanfiction profile… and go watch the videos on YouTube dangit. (search for Dasey – Nothing Better. It's my fav request!)****

Disclaimer: Does anyone have a couple extra million dollars lying around so I can finally buy this show?****

Chapter 2: Are We There Yet?

"Welcome back to 'Connie Says So'! Today we're talking to Derek and Casey who are currently telling us a story about a particular disagreement that occurred recently. Casey, why don't you pick up where Derek left off?"

Casey sat silent for a minute, taking deep breaths to collect herself. She was seated next to Derek on the couch once again, after a security guard had to come out of the wings to separate the screaming duel.

Derek cut in before Casey could respond. "If you want to hear some untrue sob story about how much Casey hates her life, then you'll listen to her version, but if you want a true account of what _actually _happened, you'll let me continue."

"I'm sure you would love to, Benedict Arnold."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Derek leaned towards Casey as if he were a deaf man. She sat up to make her statement more clear, but caught a look from the security guard and decided to keep her mouth shut.

"We can get back to your side of the story in a second, Derek, but Casey deserves a chance to tell us how she views the event as well. We need to take slow steps to mend the problem." Connie assured soothingly.

"Will you just tell this turtle what happened so we can get home?" Derek whispered to Casey.

She rolled her eyes, but decided to pick up with the rest of the story. She didn't want this "mending" process to go on any longer than Derek did. Casey smiled at Connie and cleared her throat in mock manner of Derek earlier. He just glared at her.

"Well, after Derek purposefully tried to provoke me, George pulled the van over and made Derek ride up front until we reached a gas station about two hours later…"

_ Casey crawled out of the van and yawned loudly as she stretched from side to side. Looking around, she saw they were at a small gas station that was built next to some scrappy looking restaurant. Besides those landmarks, they were pretty much in the middle of nowhere._

"Alright you guys, I'm giving everyone 20 minutes to do what they need to do and then we're back on the road!" George called out even though the family had already run off to get some nourishment.

The restaurant that Casey had spotted was more like a fast food grease pit. She stood in line, staring at the menu, trying to find something remotely edible. The line moved quickly and she was in front of the cashier in no time.

"What'll it be?" The lady (at least she thought it was a lady) grunted behind the counter.

"Uhh…"

A very familiar tune broke into the air and Casey turned around to find Derek behind her, humming the Jeopardy theme song. She smacked his chest and turned back around to order. He just snorted at her. She could practically feel his smirk, beaming arrogantly at the back of her head.

After another five minutes of complete silence, Derek couldn't take it anymore. His stomach was practically eating itself and he wanted to get his food this century.__

He pushed past Casey and said in practically one whole breath, "She'll have a chicken salad, no cheese, light on the olives, wheat croutons, and ranch dressing." He turned around and shot Casey a look as if to say 'How hard was that?' Casey just stood there, staring blankly at him. "Oh, and I'll have a burger." He added to the cashier.

Derek paid and stood there waiting for the food. Casey just stood next to him, as she couldn't really think of anything to say. Casey started to open her mouth but a man behind the counter yelled "Order up!" and Derek thrust Casey's salad at her before he walked off to find a seat.

Like a lost puppy, she followed him outside where he found a bench that was set apart from the buildings and took a seat. She walked up to the bench and looked down at the spot next to Derek before looking back at him. He rolled his eyes and motioned for her to sit.

After a few awkward minutes of nothing but the sound of chewing, Casey finally found her voice. "How did you-"

"Casey, you order the same thing practically everywhere we go." He cut her off. "And it takes you just as long every time. I was hungry; you were in my way. End of story." He said simply before taking another bite into his burger.

"Whatever." Casey scoffed at him before stomping off to eat her salad in the van. She knew for a fact she had never ordered that more than twice in front of Derek, but if he was going to be an ass about it, she would just forget it.

"Well, well, well" Connie began at Casey's pause in the story. "Derek, do you care to explain this to us?"

"Nope. I think Casey gave you the gist of it." Derek sat there looking down at his hands.

Connie nodded knowingly at him before turning to Casey. "Casey, do you feel this to be an issue when fights are brought up? The fact that Derek seems to avoid his "affectionate side"?"

"_Excuse _me?" Derek was more alert now.

"Yes, I would have to say it's a big reason for all the confrontations, Connie! He can never own up to doing anything nice or even give me a reasonable explanation." Casey was so glad that someone finally understood her.

"Ok, whoa there. First of all Lady, I do _not_ have an… "affectionate side"". Derek shuddered before continuing. "And Casey already explained why I did tha-"

"Yes, but she proved your reasoning wrong, did she not?"

"She…could be lying!"

"Ugh, this is so typical! Deny, deny, deny. Anyways, on with the story. If I waited around for Derek to explain half the things he did then I would be a rotting corpse by now."

"And that's different from your current appearance…how?"

Derek dodged a flying pillow as Casey continued the story. "So after we were back on the road, nothing too eventful happened. We all kind of fell asleep until we arrived at the hotel…"

_Casey was lightly snoring in the backseat when George parked the van in front of their hotel. The family got out and stretched. Lizzie noticed Casey was still in the van and went to wake her, but Derek grabbed her arm. "Allow me." He smirked down at her. Lizzie began to protest, but Derek was already climbing into the van._

"Casey…" he whispered in her ear.

"Mmm" she mumbled as she turned her head to the side.

Derek smiled and put his finger into his mouth, then withdrew it and yelled into Casey's ear, "WAKE UP!" before giving her a disgusting wet willy. Casey shrieked at the cold, wet feeling and kicked Derek out of the van, wiping her ear ferociously as she climbed out.

"You see what he does? Despicable!" Casey yelled as she turned to face Derek.

He just smirked at her. "Oh, but Casey you left out the best part. I mean, I was sure you wouldn't mind seeing my beautiful face when you woke up, considering that dream you were-" Derek grunted painfully as he was cut off by Casey's foot meeting sharply with his shin.

When he looked up, Casey was practically pleading him with her eyes that he wouldn't finish that sentence. Not that he had much of a choice, unless he wanted continuous injuries. Derek held his tongue, but replayed the moment in his mind.

………………………………………………………………………………

_Derek crept into the van and sat next to Casey. She looked so cute when she was sleeping and for a while he just sat there until he remembered why he had come in in the first place._

"Casey…"

"Mmm…Derek" Casey mumbled in her dreamy state and rolled over so that she now had her head on his shoulder and her arm draped across his lap.

Derek's eyes shot open wide and he just sat there, frozen like a statue, wondering what the heck he was supposed to do now. He was pretty sure he had gone to get Casey for a reason, but now his mind couldn't comprehend what that reason was. Did she just say his name? Was she dreaming about him?__

In a completely hypnotic state, Derek placed his hand on top of Casey's arm and rested his chin on her head.

"Derek, is she up yet? Come on, we gotta go check in!" Lizzie called out impatiently.

"What the hell am I doing?" Derek said to himself. He dodged to the side and Casey fell from the lack of support, but stayed on the seat sleeping. "What are you doing?" _He asked himself again. He ran a hand through his hair frustratingly, trying to clear his thoughts._

"Derek!" Marti whined outside. She was getting cranky and decided to go see what was taking her brother so long. Derek saw her coming around the side of the van and did the only thing he could think of.

If Derek had known Casey's scream could be heard in India, he would've never stuck his spit infested finger in her ear for the sake of his poor hearing. At least the noise got his mind off of his irrational action for the time being.

………………………………………………………………………………

Derek had never mentioned the whole story to anyone; he only told Casey that she was dreaming about him, which was satisfaction enough to see how much it bugged her. Not that he would ever retell the _whole_ story. What he did was just too embarrassing…and weird.

"Alright, it's my turn. These people want to get to the end of the story today, _before_ their ears fall off. Not listen to every little thing that annoys Casey McDonald." Derek stated, desperately trying to fade the memory into the background.

"Ok, Derek. Feel free to continue." Connie encouraged before Casey could start another argument.

"Ok, so we're at the hotel right? Well, the hotel manages to screw up our reservations just like every vacation we take so when we get to the rooms…"

_"Alright troop, attention!" George assumed command position and the kids just looked at him warily. "We've divided the rooms as such: Nora, Marti and I, Room 215. Lizzie and Edwin, 216. Casey and Derek, 217."_

"What?! But-" The teens cried out immediately, but Nora raised a hand to stop them.

"I don't want to hear one if, and, or but about this. We were able to get a cheaper rate this way and we figured you guys might be responsible enough to handle sharing a room away from the rest of the family." Nora bit her lip at the end of this sentence. That really didn't sound so assuring.

They groaned loudly in protest, but George ignored them as he issued out the keys. Casey snatched her key card up and stomped inside the room, slamming the door shut as soon as Derek reached the doorway.

Edwin and Lizzie suppressed laughter as Derek angrily forced his card into the slot and shoved the door open. Yelling could be heard almost immediately, but ceased as the door closed, drowning out all the noise. The family sighed in relief that they weren't forced to listen to the crazy banter, but had relaxed a moment too soon as Casey and Derek came barging out of the room in a panic.

"What's the matter?" Edwin asked, wanting to know the emergency.

"Mom is this some kind of a joke?" Casey spat angrily.

"Dad, there must have been a huge_ mistake." Derek breathed out._

The family followed them back into the room to see what the fuss was about. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary…  
A bathroom.  
A closet.  
A TV.  
A Bed…Oh.  
A_ bed. As in one. Singular._

"Well…" Lizzie began.

"No! No way!" Edwin cried out. "We've already had our room assigned to us, there is no way I'm trading. Besides, 16 is my lucky number and I am very superstitious. Very_ superstitious!" He grabbed Lizzie and dragged her out of the room, then ran inside his own hotel room and locked the door before Derek could throw him out. The family just stood in room 217 and sighed._

"Dad, seriously, can't you do something about this?" Derek pleaded.

"Sorry son. Nora and I only have one bed too, because we figured we could share with Marti. You guys are on your own for this one." Then in the same respect as Edwin, he grabbed Nora and Marti and made a mad dash for his room to avoid the dispute that was most certainly about to go down.

Casey's mouth was still agape as Derek turned to her. "You," he pointed right in her face, "get the tub. I call bed." And with that he flopped down onto the queen-sized mattress and tucked his arms behind his head. The day had been too long and simply odd and all he wanted to do was take a nap.

As soon as his eyes had closed, he felt himself being suffocated by a pillow. He shoved the culprit off of him and sat up to breathe.

"Nice try, Derek. I think I should get the bed. I'm the lady after all." She pointed out to him in annoyance.

"Could've fooled me."

"Derek! Shut up and get out of my _bed! I need to take a nap too you know. I wasn't exactly allowed any peace during my last one."_

"Like I said, Case. There's a bathtub with your name written all over it."

Casey just stood there glaring as Derek lay back down. She began tapping her foot and crossed her arms, maintaining the same position for ten minutes straight. She cleared her throat loudly.

"Fine, whatever! But if you so much as breathe on me weird, you're out in the hallway!"

Casey smiled defiantly. She wasn't too thrilled about sharing the bed with Derek, but she was glad that he was even willing to give that much. As she kicked off her shoes and made her way to the other side of the bed, Derek built up a wall of pillows.

"This is the boundary line. If you lift a finger over it-"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll leave me to rot out on the balcony. What else is new?" Casey grumbled. Her complaints began to fade as the trip took its toll on her and she drifted off to sleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

'Great.' Derek thought. 'Now I'm sure as hell not going to get any sleep.'  
………………………………………………………………………………………..

**So…any good? Maybe? Possibly? Haha it took me longer than anticipated to right this, because I kept getting stuck and I know we haven't progressed too much (if you think this chapter is crap, don't be afraid to say it), but I swear that next chapter, something is going to happen that's a huge part of my story and I think you're gonna like it :) So review and then go read "The Interview" and "Nothing Heals Me Like You Do" and review those too cuz they're AMAZING stories…much love yo.  
xo, Christina**

__


	3. Um, Help?

**He Said She Said**

A/N: I just finished watching 'On Thin Ice.' Michael Seater deserves an Oscar…anywayz, I'm finally updating so yay! Geez, over 700 LwD stories. And I'm not even sure how many videos are on youtube. But I've read and seen them all! Ok, maybe I haven't read them all, but I try! And I KNOW you guys have myspaces so please join my Dasey group! Like I said, the link is in my ff profile. Look at me rambling on and on about myself. I need to give a huge hug to all my lovely reviewers and everyone who has ever put me on a favorites or alert list. It means so much to me that I'm not the only one who enjoys this story ;-) haha

**Disclaimer: **I hate these things. It makes me feel like ever being _near_ this show is completely impossible. But when I marry Michael Seater, we'll see who has the last laugh you stupid disclaimer… Oh, and I don't own anything! Hehe

**Chapter 3: Um, Help?**

"Is it my turn yet? I kind of want to skip over this part." Casey butted into Derek's story.

"Aw, you're not embarrassed, are you Casey?" Derek baited.

"No Derek I'm not, but I would think that _you_ have good reason to be." A smile started to pull at Casey's lips. "Perhaps we _should_ tell the audience what happens next."

"On second thought…"

"Oh, no! Derek, please! Do tell!" Connie goaded.

"Oh, let me!" Casey was only too happy to take part in Derek's discomfort. "Well, I had slept for about an hour when…"

_"Ew!"_

Derek was only half conscious when he felt himself being pushed towards the edge of the bed. When he hit the ground with a loud thud, he was more than awake.

Derek groaned as he tried to stand. He was almost positive he broke something; he had just narrowly escaped smashing his head on the nightstand.

He managed to pull himself to his feet and slowly turned around. Casey was standing there with a half guilty, half disgusted look on her face. He took a deep breath before looking her straight in the eye. "Casey…" he growled at her.

"Don't even try to blame that on me! You're the one that was trying to spoon with me!" Casey cried out defensively.

"What?! That's disgusting!"

"Um, ya think?!"

They both jumped a mile when they heard a knock at the door.

"Wait! Could we possibly get some more details on the "spooning" situation? What did you mean exactly?" Connie cut in eagerly.

"I think it's self explanatory." Derek mumbled.

Casey stared off into space. She was definitely not going into any more detail. She had already embarrassed Derek and if she told the next part, she would only embarrass herself.

………………………………………………………………………………

_Casey had woken up a half hour ago and was now in the exact same position she was thirty minutes earlier, too scared and comfortably happy to move._

When she was thrown back into reality after a bad dream, she had tried to get up and splash some water on her face. Casey reached to pull the blanket back and froze. Something was holding her back.

She turned her head cautiously and found that the wall of pillows was scattered at the foot of the bed. She moved her eyes farther up and they landed on an arm that was wrapped lazily around her waist. Casey's eyes nearly bugged out of her head and her heart was drumming inside her ears. Afraid to go any farther, she forced herself to look up once more to find the owner of the arm. This wasn't exactly a mystery.

Casey quickly settled back into her original position, immediately trying to form a plan in her mind. 'What do I do? Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.' Wow. That sounds rational.

After about another five minutes, Casey had given it up. The position she was in was way too distracting. Almost in a trance, she shifted herself higher up so she could rest her head on his other arm that was stretched directly above her. Something inside her felt a sense of security and warmth. If she was thinking straight, this same feeling would make her want to puke, but right now she wasn't exactly in her right mind. So that's how she stayed for the next 20 minutes or so. Until…

Derek could feel himself waking up, but he was too groggy to open his eyes. He shifted slightly and tightened his grip on what he thought to be a pillow. Casey gasped and began to panic. 'He's waking up! I'm sure he didn't get in this position on purpose…I definitely don't want to know his reaction if he wakes up like this.' She closed her eyes in slight regret of her next action before she turned and forcefully shoved Derek off the bed.

"Ew!"

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Derek wanted so badly to continue the story, but Casey looked like she might hurl from all the pressure to continue so he cursed his inner voice and stepped into the story to save her.

"Like I've said before, you really don't want to hear what Casey has to say. I mean you could just as easily be amused while watching some paint dry. I'll just take it from here…" Casey looked at Derek with a slight sense of gratitude as he continued where she left off.__

Tearing his eyes away from Casey, Derek went to the door and heaved it open. "What?" He practically yelled at the innocent visitor.

Lizzie nearly fell backwards at the threatening greeting. "Um…I…" Derek just stood there with his arms folded, impatiently waiting for an answer. "Mom said she heard some loud noises coming from your room so I thought I'd come over and see if you guys were ok." She tried to peer around Derek to find her sister, but he wouldn't budge.

"We're fine, ok? It was probably just the TV or something" he replied carelessly.

"Alright…" she said uncertainly. "Well, Mom wanted me to come get you guys anyway, 'cause we're about to leave to Planet Joyride."

"It's the middle of the day! Kind of late to go now, don't you think?" Derek had just been rudely awakened and the last thing he wanted to do was go to some amusement park packed with screaming kids and five hour waiting lines.

"Well, we have a pass to the park for the whole week, so it doesn't really matter when we go. Besides, I don't think Mom and George can take Marti's whining anymore." Lizzie added with an eye roll.

"Ok, whatever." And without another word, Derek slammed the door in her face.

"Derek, what was that for? Lizzie didn't push you off the bed you know!" Casey began to walk over to the door and apologize to her sister, but Derek blocked her escape.

"Speaking of being pushed off the bed," Derek began and Casey gulped nervously. "What did you mean when you said I was-"

"Derek! Casey! LET'S GO!" George yelled through the door.

"Give us a second!" Derek yelled back almost louder.

"Coming!" Casey called and thanked the Heavens that she had found an exit from this awkward situation. Darting around Derek's left side, she ran out the door and towards the elevator. Sighing heavily, he had no choice but to follow.

They all pulled up to Planet Joyride ten minutes later. Nora ran through the rules with everyone at the entrance to the park, though it pretty much went in one ear and out the other. "Please have someone with you at all times, I don't want any of you wandering around the park by yourself!" Nora repeated for the seven billionth time. "I guess we can go now…" she began hesitantly and everyone immediately speed walked off into the park.

"And then everyone decides to just-"

"Ahem. I'm talking here." Derek said as if it were obvious that his voice should be the only thing heard.

"Well, you already interrupted me when I was telling the story so it's only fair!" Casey replied, annoyed.

"No, I interrupted you as you were staring stupidly at the wall, Space Case." Derek shot back, equally annoyed.

Casey turned back to Connie, ignoring the remark. "_Anyway_, we got into the park and…"__

Once inside, Casey scanned the signs to see which direction to head first. "Ok do you guys want a thrill ride or one of those cheesy adventure-" Casey stopped when she looked around and realized everyone had left. She just caught sight of Lizzie and Edwin as they ran off towards the biggest roller coaster in the whole park and glared at the back of Derek's head as he was currently in the middle of hitting on a ride attendant. George, Nora and Marti were gone as well. She sighed in frustration before deciding to catch up with her sister.

After seven hours, Casey was ready to collapse into her grave. She had walked the entire park over three times as Lizzie and Edwin got hyped up on ice cream and dragged her to every ride in the park. Well, almost. She was mostly on the bench outside of the rides. Somehow, "The Mutilizer" didn't exactly sound like a safe attraction to her.

They were heading back towards the front of the park to leave since everyone had announced that the park was starting to close. Casey continued to let herself be dragged as she daydreamed of being able to go to sleep. This only brought her mind back to what happened the last time she was in a bed so she forced herself to keep her attention on getting out of this hellhole.

"Speaking of hell…" Casey muttered under her breath as she saw Derek approaching from her left. Thankfully, the park had been big enough so that she only saw him once for the rest of the day and he didn't even notice her. Mostly because she had ducked into the nearest souvenir shop.

"Hey, did you guys ride the Mutilizer?" Derek asked Lizzie and Edwin as if Casey weren't even there. They nodded their heads enthusiastically and Derek and Edwin began to discuss the finer points of the ride.

"Hey, are you ok? You've seemed a little weird since this trip started." Lizzie noticed Casey's instant change in emotion as soon as Derek had showed up.

"I'm fine, kiddo. Just tired." Casey tried to reassure her little sister. Lizzie took a good, long look at her and though she didn't seem too satisfied with her answer, she shrugged it off and began pulling Edwin towards the exit. "Come on, we gotta go!" Lizzie called over her shoulder.

Casey glanced sideways at Derek who was just looking at her, then she started to head for the exit as well.

"So eager to leave, Casey? Have you even been on one ride?" Derek asked and she stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Yes" she said indignantly. "And "The Fluffy Kitten" doesn't count." He added. Casey just looked away and folded her arms.

"Come on." Derek said simply as he turned around and began to walk the other way.

"Wait, where are you going? The park's closing!" Casey cried out after him as she ran to keep up. He just smirked and continued to walk, knowing that she would follow him anyway.

They stopped in front of a very dark, depressing, creepy looking house that had a sign above the door that read: "Afraid of the Dark." Casey looked up at the building with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She wasn't too big on horror movies. She had slept in her Mom's bed for a week after watching "The Sixth Sense".

Derek stood behind Casey and grinned. He could see her frame stiffening and the fear sinking in. He couldn't resist. He grabbed her shoulders and yelled into her ear "Boo!" Casey nearly had a heart attack as she screamed and ran from his clutches.

When she turned around, Derek was bent over with laughter and she would give anything for a swing at him. He managed to slightly control himself as he stood up and walked over to Casey.

"You're too easy. Now come on." He laughed at her and headed for the ride's entrance.

"Derek, no." He raised an eyebrow at her and she covered up, pretending that it had nothing to do with the fact that she was scared out of her mind. "I mean, the ride's probably closed by now. Our parents are waiting for us."

"The ride's still open and no one's here so we don't have any lines! Come on, and don't be such a chicken." Derek held the door open and waited for her to follow him inside. She just stood there, biting her lip and staring up at the house anxiously. "Bawk, bawk, baaawwwk!" Derek mocked her and smirked as she took the bait and stepped inside. This girl was too proud.

Derek let the door swing shut behind them and they both jumped when it snapped shut with a loud bang. "Scared yet?" Derek taunted.

"Please Venturi, you were the one that jumped." Casey laughed at him and led the way into the haunted house, trying to appear to be brave.  
When an almost realistic zombie jumped out from the ceiling, Casey was more than willing to let Derek take the lead. Rolling his eyes, he obliged and Casey ducked behind him as he walked carelessly through the place. "Chicks…" he muttered as he breezed past the mummies and vampires.

Just when she couldn't take it much longer, Casey peered over Derek's shoulder and saw the exit sign. Dodging the last spider that shot across the hall, she ran for the door and grabbed the doorknob hastily.

"Um, Derek?" Casey asked in a shaky whisper.

"You twist and then push." Derek instructed her.

Even when she was scared as hell, she always had time to roll her eyes at the stupid remarks Derek could make.

_  
"It's locked." She said firmly._

Derek just scoffed as if she were playing a lame prank and pushed her aside. He tried the knob and turned it in both directions, pushing and pulling. He shook the door violently for one last test before turning back around to face Casey.

"The door's locked." He declared.

Casey closed her eyes and threw her head back in complete annoyance. "You're a genius, honestly."

Derek shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "We'll just go back through the entrance. No big deal." He said even though he began to sound just as nervous.

"Yeah ok, we'll just walk through the wall that automatically blocks the entrance off once you pass Frankenstein's lair!" She shrieked sarcastically.

She looked at Derek for him to try again, but his mind was blank. She didn't exactly seem to have a winning plan either. They just stared at each other, eyes wide and mouths slightly opened.

As if on cue, they sprinted for the door and began to bang on it like madmen. 

"HELP!"

**See? A surprise! Yay! The bad news is I totally forgot what I was going to say in my end A/N. Dang it! Well, I guess I should say that you need to read "Guilty Conscience" cuz it's the best Dasey one shot ever and I'll be back soon with an update! I'm off to go see "The number 23"! LEAVE THE LOVE!!!  
xo, Christina**__

****


	4. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

**He Said She Said**

A/N: Hello. I have come to the conclusion that procrastination sucks and therefore I need to freaking write the next chapter! So, I'm really happy with the reviews I'm getting, they make me smile. You guys are beyond awesome. You're kickin' rad. I sometimes look back at the chapters and think "THAT SUCKED" but you guys keep my mind at ease :) Is anyone else going through a mild traumatic state without new episodes of Life with Derek? Cuz I am. But then again, isn't that why we're all on this website? Hmmm.

**Disclaimer:** Ok, I'm down. You can kick me now.

**Chapter 4: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures**

Casey let out a huge shudder. Just the thought of being in that haunted house made her skin crawl. The thought of being locked in a haunted house with Derek was something she wouldn't even let her mind comprehend.

"So how long did it take your family to realize you were missing?" Connie inquired.

Derek and Casey just looked at each other and then stared angrily into the camera. Lizzie and Edwin were still on the couch at Casey's grandma's house and they could practically feel the glare burning through their heads. But Edwin couldn't hold it in. He burst out laughing and was soon joined by Lizzie. It was kind of hard to keep a straight face when they thought of what they had done.

……………………………………………………………………………

_"Wait a second! Where'd they go?" Lizzie was still grabbing onto Edwin's arm when she stopped, so he stumbled back a bit._

"Where'd who go?" Edwin asked, clueless.

Lizzie simply smacked him over the head. "They were right behind us. Why do I have a feeling this is all Derek's fault? Poor Casey…"

Edwin snapped his fingers and his face lit up as though there were a light bulb above it. "Let's leave 'em here."

After pausing to look into his eyes for a few minutes, Lizzie could tell he wasn't kidding. "Are you nuts? They're going to shred each other to pieces! Besides, our parents are waiting for them. Call me crazy, but I think everyone would notice if they were gone."

"Lizzie, come on. We've been waiting for the perfect opportunity! Remember when we left them trapped in the bathroom? Well, this is the same concept, just a bit more…extreme."

"That must be the stupidest thing I've ever heard! First of all, we were in the safety of our own house, not an amusement park! And do you even remember what happened in the bathroom? I'm the one that had to clean all that shampoo up!"

Edwin just stood with a bored expression as Lizzie finished her rant. "These are just minor details. I don't see much difference between being at home or in this park. They were both chaotic at the time! And after the crazy shampoo/water pick battle, they got along didn't they?"

Lizzie was quickly searching for ways to protest. She wanted Derek and Casey together just as much as Edwin did, but her sister would not be happy about this. "Casey is going to kill me." Lizzie whimpered pathetically, though her voice definitely hinted that she was giving in.

"Like I said," Edwin smiled. "Minor details."

Edwin sprinted for the exit as Lizzie lunged to attack him. They were both laughing hysterically as they came to a halt in the parking lot to catch their breath. "Ok, so just follow my lead. I've got an excuse for Dad and Nora." Edwin told her and Lizzie nodded as they headed for the car.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

"Casey? Derek?" Connie asked cautiously. The teens seemed to be fuming from the ears.

Derek broke his concentrated, threatening gaze from the camera and turned to Connie. "Well, last time I checked, our family would actually have to know we were missing in order to come back and look for us."

Connie looked confused and George and Nora were in the audience with a guilty expression on their faces.

Casey cut in to clear things up. "See, _supposedly_ we had left the park and caught a bus back to the hotel where we decided to go to bed early. Or at least that's what Edwin and Lizzie told our parents."

"But they were with you when the park was closing." Connie informed them. Derek turned his head so she wouldn't see him roll his eyes.

"Exactly." Casey tried to explain. "They lied to our parents so that they could leave us in the park! Why, I don't know, but I refuse to let Derek perform Chinese water torture on them to find out." She elbowed his side for emphasis.

"We would've gotten results a lot sooner." Derek stated logically.

"Please continue the story." Connie almost pleaded so that she wouldn't have to witness another war waging on her couch.

"Yeah, yeah." Derek waved his hand carelessly. "So we're in the lame haunted house and Casey's practically huddled in a corner crying-"

"Oh no, wait Derek. That was you." Casey smirked rudely at him.

Derek let out a loud sarcastic laugh before continuing. "So while Casey's sobbing, I'm trying to think of a way to get the heck out of there…"

_ "What was that?" Casey jumped and spun around to look behind her.  
She still had her purse with her and held it above her head as if she were armed with a wooden club._

Derek was on his knees in front of the door, using one of Casey's bobby pins to try and pick the lock. He didn't even stop to look back at whatever Casey was freaking out over. This was, after all, the sixteenth time she had asked that question.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. At this part in the ride, the abominable snowman jumps out from behind that wall and bites your head off." Derek grunted as he tried to pry the pin out of the lock that it was currently stuck in.

Casey slowly turned to look at him (or rather, the back of his head). "You're kidding." She said slowly as if coming to a shocking realization.

"Unfortunately." He muttered as he gave the pin one last tug. "Casey, give me another one of those stupid hair clip things. This one broke."

"I just gave you my last one!"

"I thought you said you had more!"

Casey looked incredulously at Derek before pointing to the ground. When he looked down, he saw about fifteen more bobby pins, scattered and broken on the ground. "Oh."

Standing to his feet, Derek brushed off his jeans. "Well, I never said watching all those cop shows would actually work. It was worth a shot." With that simple explanation, he shoved his hands in his pockets and rested against a wall.

"Are you kidding me?! That's all you're going to do? We're stuck in here Derek! It's been a full half hour and no one has come back to get us!" Casey was practically hyperventilating.

"Is it my fault I got my phone taken away? I thought text messages were free." Derek shrugged.

"Um, yes it's your fault! It's also your fault that you bought me such a crappy cell phone and the battery is dead!" Casey yelled, exasperated.

Derek took a step forward to retaliate, but stopped and tipped his head to the side curiously. Casey stared at him questioningly and he simply pointed to the object in question.

"What? Is it a spider?!" Casey shrieked and batted furiously at her hair.

"Would you chillax, Spazzy McGee? Look." Derek grabbed Casey by the shoulders to stop her flailing, turned her around, and pointed upward at a trap door in the ceiling.

"You're not actually proposing we go up there?" she turned around to ask him. He just raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged as if to say there were no other options.

"Oh come on, Derek. You're not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The ceiling's, like, ten feet tall!" Casey protested.

A minute later they were underneath the door. Casey grabbed Derek's shoulder as he clasped his hands together, prepared to boost her up onto his shoulders. She hesitantly set her foot into his grasp, but paused for a moment to look at him once more. "If you make one fat joke, I swear-"

Derek just smirked at her and heaved her up towards the ceiling. She grabbed at the wall to stop her self from swaying all over the place. "Could you at least keep it steady down there?" She yelled to Derek.

He muttered something in response, but she didn't bother to ask him to repeat it or she might've leapt down and beaten the crap out of him. He readjusted them a bit until she was comfortably standing on his shoulders. Well, comfortable for her. Derek was dying. "Open the door!" he called out impatiently.

"Move to the left!" Casey instructed. She was finally able to grasp the handle and to her relief, the door opened quite easily. "Ok, it's open. Now what do I-ahhh!" Derek used every bit of strength left in him to push her up as high as he could manage until her body was halfway inside the ceiling's entrance. As soon as he thought it was safe, he quickly dodged out from under her, wincing at the movement.

"I think you broke my shoulders" Derek whined, trying to rotate his arms and stretch.

"Aren't you a macho man, Mr. Hockey God." Casey grunted sarcastically as she managed to hoist herself up onto the roof of the building. She sighed heavily and stood to look around her. Casey immediately regretted doing this. There wasn't a soul in the park.

"Hey!"

Derek's voice temporarily snapped her back to the current situation and she looked back down through the door. "Derek, I think-"

"Could you maybe hold that thought and GET ME OUT OF HERE?"

"How? I can't just dangle down to you like some kind of monkey! You're going to have to find something I can pull you up with. I think I saw a rope back in the 'ghosts of the gallows' exhibit." Casey called back to him.

"Wouldn't that have required you to actually open your eyes at some point during the walk through?" Derek smirked at her.

"Would you just go get it, Venturi!" Casey huffed and stood once again to take a better look at her surroundings.

"That must have been pretty scary, Derek, going back into the haunted house like that." Connie interrupted briefly. Casey scrunched her nose in disgust. Was it her imagination, or was Connie trying to imply that Derek was some kind of brave hero?

"Puh-lease. Derek told me later that he found the rope just outside the room we were in. He didn't have to go anywhere." Casey informed her with clear annoyance etched into her voice.

"Hey, it was dark in there. At least I had the guts to walk two feet in front of me with out my mommy and a blanket." He defended.

"You are so annoying. Yeah, I know, 'Right back at ya, Case'" she mocked bitterly and he just rolled his eyes and turned to look the other way. Casey took this as her turn to continue on with the story.

"I decided I had had enough of Derek's cruelty, so you should know that what I did next was completely justified and Derek had it coming!"  
_  
Casey gasped and ran for the ladder she saw that was suspended over the building. She was about to step down onto the first wrung when she heard footsteps inside. Derek was back._

"Casey!" he yelled impatiently. If she wandered off on him, he would kill her. She appeared a couple seconds later and he threw the rope up to her.

"Derek, I found-"

"Hey, that's great. How about you explain your little discovery once you pull me out of here, huh?" he interrupted her rudely once again.

"Fine." She replied through gritted teeth, then smirked to herself for the plan that was forming inside her head.

She pulled the rope back towards the ladder and tied it onto the side handle. "Ok, you can start climbing!" Casey called back toward Derek. She quickly descended the ladder and came around to the door that had once trapped them inside.

As quietly as she possibly could, she opened the door (she was able to unlock it from the outside) and used a sign to hold it in place so it wouldn't lock her in again. She tiptoed over to the spot directly beneath the rope. Derek was about halfway up, struggling to get to the door. Casey clasped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at his slow, sluggish attempts. Apparently they didn't cover too much rope climbing in hockey.

"Need some help, Der?" Casey asked as sweetly as she could.

"No" Derek said angrily and defiantly. "I'm perfectly capable of-" He stopped short and looked up towards the ceiling. He was pretty sure Casey's voice had been coming from below. He looked down and his suspicions were confirmed. Casey smiled up at him, still concealing a laugh.

"Because, you know, some people find it easier to just use the door." She began cracking up as Derek sighed irritably. He jumped down from the rope and stretched his neck a little before collecting his dignity and stomping pass Casey and out of the building.

Casey continued cackling away as she reminisced one of the few times she was able to get back at Derek. "Th-the l-l-look on your f-face" she gasped out between giggles, "was p-p-priceless!"

Even Connie had to keep her hand over her mouth to conceal her smile. The audience even began to laugh, but one look from Derek shut them all up and Casey kept her guffawing down to a dull roar.

"Funny. I don't remember the next part to be so amusing to you." Derek countered.

Casey stopped laughing all together at this. She knew he was right, what happened next wasn't exactly a thrill for either of them.

"And what happened next exactly?" Connie was like a bottomless pit of questions.

"The park was closed." Casey admitted. "We couldn't find a single soul around and all the exits were blocked off. I guess we had been inside that haunted house longer than we thought. Not that it was my idea to go in there…"

"Here we go." Derek sighed and relaxed back into the couch, prepared for a long lecture from Casey on how it was all his fault and how he caused every problem in her life and blah, blah, blah.

Luckily, a man up in the sound booth had motioned for a commercial break. As the rambling continued on in the background, Connie turned to the camera.

"We have one more commercial break left. When we get back, Casey and Derek will hopefully _try_ and continue this story. Looks like we'll have to finish it up in tomorrow's episode! But don't go away, we'll have more right after this."

The man motioned again that it was all clear and they had gone to commercials. Derek and Casey stopped bickering immediately and stood up to chase Connie down as she was leaving to the makeup room for a quick touch up.

Derek jumped in front of her to block her path and demanded, "What do you mean, we'll be back tomorrow? We weren't exactly thrilled to be on this show in the first place. I'm not wasting my weekend here, talking about Casey's stupidity."

"Look, I'm sorry, but we have more viewers now for this episode than we've had in years. We've got to keep the ratings up." She shrugged at them and continued her journey backstage.

Casey and Derek looked at each other and crossed their arms angrily. Casey turned towards the audience and scoffed. "Who in their right mind would waste a Friday watching two teenagers argue about such trivial things?"

Derek just looked at her and shrugged.

"Beats me."

**Haha, OK, in no way am I making fun of people who watch this show, because I am a die hard fan and plan my entire Friday around it (when it's a new season), but I thought the last lines would be a funny allusion to the show :) Anyways, I sort of had a plan going into this chapter, but a lot of it was on the spot. I hope it was ok! I just realized I didn't add any "no one's POV flashback" (except for that whole Lizzie and Edwin thing), but there was nothing that really happened that no one knew about. I know you guys will be amazing as always and click that little button down there! Reviews make my day, so I would really appreciate some!  
xo, Christina**


	5. Snap Out Of It

**He Said She Said**

A/N: I know, I know, shame on me for not updating sooner! Sorry, but school is crazy right now. Actually, I should be studying for a test, but I want to finish the next chapter of this story before Ashley Leggat does her chat on myspace and I'm gonna be at Taste of Chaos tomorrow so now's the only time to do it! So I have to vent right now and say I'm TOTALLY jealous of all those people going to the autograph signings with Ashley and Michael. I've seen videos on youtube of it. Freaking lucky people.  
Oh, and I semi-converted an anti Dasey person by making them see my point of view that if Derek was my stepbrother, I'd be all over him haha

**Disclaimer: **Not owning Life with Derek makes me cry, so I'm going to ignore the disclaimer while at the same time telling you that I own nothing. Tears…

**Chapter 5: Snap Out of It**

"Hello again! This has been quite a show today, but unfortunately we don't have that much time left. Casey and Derek are going to finish telling a little more about their story and we'll be seeing them again tomorrow so be sure to tune in! Now, Derek I believe it's your turn. Did you really just tell us that you and Casey were locked in the park with no working phones? How unlucky!" Connie said sympathetically. And nauseatingly.

"Unlucky? No. Tortured and cruelly punished? Yes."

"Just tell the story…_Dereka._"

Derek cleared his throat loudly as if to cover up his embarrassment and before he could be asked what the name was all about, he started on the story again.

"Ok, so I believe we're at the part where Casey thinks she's hilarious and decides to have me almost break my neck rope climbing, correct? Ok so after that…"

_Derek and Casey sprinted at full speed for the last exit in the park. Both of them came to a screeching halt when they noticed the padlock on the incredibly high fence. Casey kicked the fence with all her might and cursed under her breath as she paced up and down. Derek just sunk to the ground and leaned his back against the gate._

Rolling his eyes at himself for having a shred of a conscience, he noticed Casey limping in her stride and he managed to ask, "Sprain your foot again Klutzilla?" Not exactly an omen to get better, but it was the nicest thing he could manage to say without sounding like he cared too much. Sighing, he bent his head down before muttering, "You ok?"

She stopped pacing and turned to look down at him. "Am I ok? Am. I…OK?"

"It was just a question. Don't get mad at me because you were stupid enough to try and break your foot during a rage blackout."

"I do not have rage blackouts! But that's a good alibi when the day comes that I get to beat you mercilessly! And since when do you care if I even saw my leg off? God, this is all your fault!" she screamed at him. Exhaling deeply as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she managed to slide herself down and sit next to him.

After a minute when he was sure her breathing had slowed to it's normal rate, he tried again. "So does that mean…"

"I'm fine." She interrupted angrily.

Derek didn't have to take this right now. They were locked in a God forsaken amusement park and all she could do was bitch at him. So he stood up and began to walk back into the park.

"Where are you going?" she called out trying to sound like she didn't care.

"We're stuck here. I don't know about you, but I'm starving_. I don't plan on sitting against the gate waiting for it to magically open."_

"You're always "starving" Derek. And you can't just go and eat whatever you want. There's no one here and I don't plan on stealing from this park anytime soon."

"Well, that's the difference between you and me Casey." He winked at her and turned to continue his journey.

"Ha. That's definitely not the only difference." She called after him half heartedly, but after a minute she decided to follow him. Her stomach was growling louder than Derek's snoring.

After about five minute of wandering the park in complete silence, Derek stopped in front of one of the restaurants, finally choosing a destination.

Unfortunately for Casey, Derek didn't come with any break lights and she ran straight into him. He barely wavered where as she fell to the ground with a loud "Umph."

"Thanks for the heads up." She muttered sarcastically.

Derek just laughed at her and turned towards the door, trying to find a way inside the appetizing burger joint. He pulled on the doors, just for the heck of it, but of course they were locked. Scratching his head in thought, he turned around and noticed that Casey was still on the ground, slumped over in her sitting position.

"Don't tell me you sprained your butt too, because there is no way I'm going to ask if that's ok." He said raising his hands.

She looked at him, but the usual flame that ignited in her eyes at the sense of an insult was gone. She looked like a sad, desperate little girl who was lost in a park with someone she couldn't stand and would give anything to be back in her hotel bed with her family safely next door.

Derek stopped talking and looked down. He was beginning to talk about Casey's eyes for God's sake. This was definitely not for the television viewers to hear and especially not for Casey.

Casey sat at Derek's right, just staring and waiting for him to continue. It was kind of spooky that he seemed to be dead on at how she had been feeling at the time. Was it possible Derek had stepped out of his selfish world for two seconds to stop being a jerk and actually care about how she felt?

"And then…" Connie encouraged.

"And then we were able to find a window to get into the place and we ate and left." Derek rushed through the sentence, trying to skip over this part in the story entirely.

"Derek, that's not all that happened. I mean, it was almost kind of fun when-" Casey was interrupted when a light flashed from the control booth and the crew signaled it was time to wrap it up.

"Hold that thought Casey! We'd love to hear it tomorrow. Sadly, that's all the time we have for today. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to come back tomorrow at noon for round two of this crazy saga!" Connie held a frozen smile until they were all clear and she hastily shook hands with Derek and Casey before exiting backstage.

Derek and Casey remained on the couch, Casey looking at Derek and Derek looking at the ground. He didn't want any questions, not now. He had let his guard slip and he could slap himself for it.

"Derek, I-" Casey's voice seemed almost apologetic, but whatever she was going to say was cut off once _again_ when Nora and George came up to the stage to take them home.

"Come on you guys. It takes a while to get home and we still have to pick up the kids. I'm sure you'll want to be rested for tomorrow's show!" George said grinning at them.

"Why can't we just…I don't know, call in sick or something? I mean, you're always complaining about gas prices Dad, I'm just trying to help you out here." Derek pitched a pathetic attempt to try and leave this place and never come back.

"Derek, you and Casey need to be here tomorrow. I know you don't like it now, but you'll appreciate this experience a lot more once you've vented your feelings and hopefully get some closure in all these arguments." Nora soothed.

Casey and Derek looked at each other like she was nuts before bursting out in laughter. "Good one, Mom." Casey breathed out as she patted her mom on the arm and headed off for the car. George shrugged at his wife and they all followed after her.

Though the drive down to the studio hadn't exactly been a road trip, they still treated it as such. Derek and Casey groaned as they tried to sit as far apart from each other in the backseat as they could. Derek immediately pulled out his iPod and Casey pulled out her latest book to read.

Nora had fallen asleep about ten minutes later and George had zoned into his driving mode, completely unaware of the other passengers. Derek was still listening to music that threatened his hearing with his eyes closed and head back as Casey shot daggers from occasional side glances at him.

After a chapter and a half, Casey began to get bored, not to mention a little car sick and decided to settle for staring out the window. 'We're going to be passing that exact same tree tomorrow morning. This sucks. I need time to study, not talk about Derek all day while he sits back and basks in the glory people give him. Ha, though I did get him pretty good a couple times today…" Casey thought looking back at the day's events and some random details in the story.

Just then, she realized she was smiling like an idiot. While thinking about _Derek._ She cringed and immediately turned her grin into a scowl. Feeling someone's eyes on her, Casey whipped her head to her left. Derek wasn't fast enough to look away and pretend he was still asleep so he stared back. 'How long has he been staring at me? And why?' Casey had a quizzical look on her face when she looked at Derek.

He covered up the odd staring contest by using his mind-trick skills. He was able to form a smirk before turning to look out the window, willing Casey to believe that he had seen her look like an idiot with all the weird expressions on her face and that she should be the one that was embarrassed as if she were caught staring at _him._ 'How does he do that?' Casey wondered incredulously when she realized he'd made her blush for no reason.

Derek forced himself to keep his eyes on what was outside the car. If he even glanced back at Casey, he was almost sure she would be looking back and he couldn't take that feeling in his stomach. That fluttery, stupid, lovey-dovey feeling. That wasn't Derek Venturi's style.

Even though he wasn't looking at Casey, he definitely couldn't stop himself from thinking about her. And he's no mind reader, but he was pretty sure Casey was thinking the same thing. Why had he covered up on his story today? It wasn't that big of a deal…right?

………………………………………………………………………………  
__

Derek was starting to feel sick as he continued to stand there, watching Casey mope on the ground. He wasn't too big on pity and he didn't like that the feeling was beginning to creep into him.

Aggravated that she wouldn't get up and fight back with him, he dragged his feet over to her and held out a hand. Casey looked up at him, a little confused, but still sad. "What's that for?" she asked suspiciously.

"Don't think I'm just going to leave you here and let you rest while I do all the work. And since you can't even sit down without spraining something, I'm thinking if you tried to get up right now, you might kill yourself. So hurry up and grab it before I change my mind." Derek avoided her eyes as he spoke.

Grudgingly, Casey gripped his hand and he pulled her up in one quick jerk. "This really sucks." Casey said just above a whisper as she looked around at the prison they seemed to be in.

"You're welcome, your highness. And only you would think that being stuck in the most awesome place on the face of the Earth "sucks". Can we just get inside so I can eat? Refreshments at a pity party don't really fill me up." Derek started back at his usual jerky antics, more than done with the stupid voice in his head that told him to be nice.

"Whatever." Casey muttered and they both moved to take a step forward then froze. They looked down simultaneously to find a familiar situation. Derek's hand was still firmly holding Casey's since he helped her off the ground.

Inhaling quietly, Casey began to look up at Derek, but he was too quick for her and immediately released his hand and walked behind the building. Casey closed her eyes in disappointment and frustration before storming off after him. She came to an empty alleyway. To her right, a window to the restaurant stood open and a slight shuffling could be heard inside.

"Casey McDonald. Charged with breaking and entering under the advisement of a total asinine stepbrother." Casey whined as she climbed through the window.

"Derek?" Casey called out softly. She wasn't sure why she was being quiet, it's not like anyone was there. "Derek, you're not funny. Where-"  
Casey was cut off as she stepped into the kitchen and something struck the side of her face.

Casey's eyes dropped to the ground where she saw a hamburger bun that was lying at her feet. Turning her eyes to the culprit, she found Derek crouched behind a counter with a huge smirk on his face and endless amounts of food ammunition behind him.

Boy, if looks could kill. "Aww, what's the matter, Case? Did I accidentally get a sesame seed in your hair?" Derek pouted at her and came to a full standing position.

Casey didn't respond. She calmly walked towards Derek with a blank expression and came to a halt at his side. Derek stood with his hands at the ready, not sure what Casey was about to do. The next thing that happened was completely unexpected. Casey looked at Derek and smiled. An honest, genuine smile. Derek was almost frightened by her reaction. "Um, Case. You're freaking me out."

He didn't seem to notice that Casey was only smiling because she managed to reach her hand back to the fully stocked shelves. "You want help making food or what? I'm kind of hungry too now so let's just skip these childish games and eat. Now, you like mustard and_ mayonnaise on your sandwich, right?" Casey answered casually._

"Riiight…" Derek was still completely suspicious and with very good reason.

"Ok, then. Here." Casey drew her hands out that had been hiding behind her back and before Derek could register the contents she had been holding, he was blinded with mustard in his left eye and mayo in his right. There was a dead silence for a good fifteen seconds before Casey went into a hysterical laughing fit.

"Thanks." Derek said as if nothing had happened. "And you like tomatoes and cheese on your sandwich if I recall correctly."

"Derek, don't you-" Casey began as an entire bag of shredded cheese was emptied onto her head and Derek topped it off by squeezing tomato juice all over her head. "Dare." She finished pathetically.

Derek didn't have time to relish the moment and laugh at his genius work, because two seconds later, they were grabbing every piece of food in sight and flinging it at each other. Casey ducked behind an opposite counter after filling her arms with ammo. After a good five minutes of heavy battle, Casey was losing horribly. Sighing in defeat, she grabbed what was left of her supplies and held up her creation in surrender. "I call a truce!" She cried helplessly, waving a sandwich over her head.

Derek ceased fire and came around the counter cautiously. Casey stood up as well and held out her peace offering. Derek took the sandwich and after careful examination came to a conclusion. "Well it doesn't look like it's been poisoned." He smirked at her. "I thought you'd finally learned that when it comes to a battle between you and me, team Derek always comes out on top. I'll save you the embarrassment and accept your peace offering."

Casey glared at him, but held out a hand to make it official. Derek rolled his eyes, but decided to humor her and offer his hand. She grasped it with a loud squishing sound. Derek didn't have to look down to know that his hand was now covered in mayonnaise.

"You're right Derek. I don't know why I try." Casey said innocently, biting back a smile. Before she left to clean up she pulled Derek closer and leaned into his ear.

Derek's breathing stopped all together. 'What the hell is she doing?' She was practically pressed up against him, her breath hot in his ear. He was about to lose it. Luckily, before he did something rash, Casey simply said "Thanks for the sandwich, Der." Before grabbing her peace offering back and strutting off to the dining area. Derek let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, then leaned up against a wall and let his head fall back against it repeatedly.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Now both teens were smiling. Not all wars ended in hatred and they particularly liked those kinds. They glanced at each other once more, but as soon as their eyes met, they snapped their attention back to the window. Their thoughts were identical.

'Snap out of it.'

**Ok, I don't know if that was any good, I was kinda rushed with a time limit but I hope it was presentable! I love you guys! Please, please review. It means the WORLD to me :D  
xo, Christina**_  
_

****


	6. The Charming Man

**He Said She Said**

A/N: (this is gonna be a long one) OK, I solemnly swear to never talk bad about my writing or chapters ever again haha you guys seemed to disagree. It made me feel better and happy so thank you, as always, I want to hug you all!

I've been super happy lately, because not only did I get to talk to Ashley Leggat during her myspace chat, she also joined my dasey group on myspace! Hahaha That girl rocks… Oh and she told someone in the chat in response to if she was dating Mike (and I'm paraphrasing): "Mike is very shy, so even if we were dating, I couldn't tell you!" Ok so that means that they are sooo into each other lol but yeah, she told me that the new LwD episodes will be up in a few weeks and that contests and tours will hopefully be available to Americans soon! Oh and my favorite part: she's going to send me an autograph from Mike hehe I'm gonna die…

Last note, I swear: I went to Taste of Chaos on Wednesday, and in the middle of 30 seconds to mars' set, I TOUCHED JARED LETO. On with the story…

**Disclaimer: **You know if I owned this show they'd be airing season 4 already…and Derek and Casey would've made out lol

**Chapter 6: The Charming Man**

Casey practically sprinted out of the car the minute it stopped in their driveway. She would've driven down to Texas and taken a chainsaw out of the nearest psychopath's hands just to cut the awkward tension in the car. She figured it would be ok once they picked up the kids from her grandmother's house, but George and Nora decided to let them spend another day there since they would be going back to the studio tomorrow.

Once she was safely in the comfort of her room, she locked her door and grabbed the phone to call Emily. Her fingers flew across the keypad and she fidgeted on the edge of her bed till she heard the other line pick up and a familiar voice ring through her ear. "Emily! I need to talk to you pronto!"

Derek headed up the stairs with an overloaded plate of leftover spaghetti. He slowly shuffled into his room and kicked the door closed, then settled himself into his desk chair. Derek turned his attention to his food, but was overcome with a completely nauseous feeling and decided to call Sam instead.

Before his thumb could touch the first number, he realized there were voices coming out of the receiver instead of a dial tone. Gently and quietly placing his hand over the mouthpiece, Derek held the phone to his ear and listened.

"Em, you've got to let me vent for just five minutes with no questions and no interruptions and you have to promise not to get mad at me. Ok? OK?" Casey's words were jumbled and frantic.

"Um, ok. Casey, are you alright? Derek didn't put mustard in your hair conditioner again, did he?" Emily responded curiously, but a little bored.  
Derek held back a laugh.

"No! But I'd prefer it to what's going on now!" Casey cried frustratingly. "You saw the show today right? Well, they want us to go back tomorrow and I can't do it! I can't tell them anything after the point that we stopped at! Not just the food fight, but what happened afterward!"

"Huh? Casey, hun, you're not making sense! What food fight? And what can't you say?" Emily was getting a little hyper at the faint scent of gossip and she needed the details now.

"Just remember Em, you promised you wouldn't get mad." Casey sternly reminded.

"I'm not mad, but I will be if you don't tell me what the heck is going on!"

"Ok, fine. Well, when we got in the restaurant, Derek and I had this huge food fight. I'm talking tomatoes in the hair and mayo in the eyes. But anyway, after the fight, we started talking again and then we started yelling and before I even knew what was happening- Emily?" Casey pulled the phone away from her ear and gave it a quizzical look.

"Oops." Casey span around on her bed to see a very unapologetic looking Derek standing by her doorway with a phone cord in his hand.

"Der-ek! Plug that back in, Emily's going to think I died or something!" Casey lunged for the cord in Derek's hand but he pulled away and stepped into her room.

"You're lucky to be breathing right now! You have no idea how hard I'm trying to not strangle you right now. I mean, Emily? You were going to tell _Emily_? Hey, I got an idea! Why don't you call Barbara Walters while you're at it and give her an exclusive!" Derek was straining his words through clenched teeth.

"Well, at least there would be a lot more communication going on! Today was practically the first time I've spoken to you in a week! You've been too busy being a guy and you won't even spare me two seconds to talk about anything that's been happening. You…you…avoider!" Casey yelled angrily.

"Ha!" Derek shouted. "You wanna go for the name calling, eh? I got one for you. How about hypocrite of the year!"

"What are you talking about?" Casey shot back rather weakly.

"Don't even try to play innocent. You're the one that's been sprinting under tables just so you could avoid talking to me!"

"What? That's ludicrous! That was only one time…and I dropped an earring." Casey mumbled.

"Save it McDonald. We're both guilty of the avoidance game. But I'm not about to stand back and let you call up the biggest gossip in school so you can burn my reputation completely and stomp it into the ground!"

"Of course! Everything just has to be about Derek! Wait, what's that? I think someone in China stopped talking about you! Run for the cover, the world is done for!" Casey yelled with exaggerated, sarcastic movements. Each move brought her closer and closer to him.

"Wow! Let me know when that clever insult book of yours hits the New York Time's bestseller's list!" Derek yelled back in equal sarcasm.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll let you know how that works out in a couple years. But I guess I should ask which 'deadbeat with no future' shelter should I contact first?"

"That's right. Keep going with your little insults. We both know what I can do to make you shut up at anytime." Derek smirked evilly at her as he brought his face even closer to hers. Now their shoes were touching.

Casey gasped a little at this bold response and all the guards in her mind were unlocked as she let herself remember an all too similar situation.

………………………………………………………………………………

_Derek emerged a few minutes later from the kitchen with a sandwich of his own. Casey had already chosen a booth to sit at and was pretending to innocently admire a painting that hung overhead. She stole a glance at him as he headed in her direction and he didn't even bother to look at her as he slid in the seat directly across from her. Casey shot him a look before deciding to play along with his stupid ignorance game and began to finish her sandwich._

Only a few seconds later, Casey nearly choked on the bread she was in the middle of swallowing. Something had definitely just grazed her leg. Staring in disbelief at Derek, she began to ask "Did you just-"

"Nope." Derek interrupted casually and continued to eat. He still wouldn't really look at her. Casey tried to ignore him again, but she threw her sandwich down in frustration and confusion as she felt a playful kick to her right foot.

"Der-ek…" Casey warned.

Derek had to bend his head down to conceal the smile spreading over his face. He would aggravate her a million times over if it meant hearing her say his name that way. It was only when he heard that certain stress to the syllables of his name that he knew she was officially irritated by his childish antics and he wasn't far from pushing her to the limit.

In all actuality, Derek wasn't too interested in pissing Casey off. He just desperately wanted to get her back for how she had made him feel for that brief second in the kitchen. Girls don't give Derek Venturi butterflies, it was the other way around and he knew she was a sucker for footsies.

He waited a little longer this time until Casey stopped staring and tried to go back to eating. He glanced up at her and then peaked under the table. She had her legs crossed at the ankles and they were pulled under the seat. This brought another smile to his face. Just another obstacle she'd set up that he could easily tear down.

He slowly brought his left foot around her right and brought her leg back into open territory as he began to run his right foot up her leg. Her eyes shot up to his and he smirked at her. She knew exactly what he was trying to do.

"Stop it! You are so immature!" Casey tried to sound angry, but her voice wasn't exactly stable. There was a hitch in her breathing. Derek started to laugh at her insecurity.

"What now?" Casey was really getting angry now and stood up in front of him. He just shook his head and looked up at her, smiling.

She crossed her arms. "What's the matter? Did I get you all bent out of shape in the kitchen earlier?" She asked smugly.

"Um, I think you need to overlook the situation here, Case. Who exactly is the one that's bent out of shape right now?" Derek asked, standing up to tower over her.

Casey tried to stand her ground but was beginning to get a little shaky. This was new territory. Sure, the fights were always verbally harsh, as well as physical, but since when had they begun to use flirting tactics to get on each other's nerves? She didn't know what it was doing for Derek, but for her, she wasn't annoyed at all. In fact, half of her wished he would just grab her right now and-

"No!" Casey screeched out of nowhere. Derek watched her pace in front of him with her hands over her eyes. "No, no, no, no…" she repeated warily. As amusing as this was, she seemed a little psychotic.

"Care to elaborate? No…?" Derek chided.

Casey stopped pacing but would not uncover her eyes. She couldn't look at Derek again, not with these insane thoughts that she was having. 'Half of me wanted Derek to grab me and do what? I don't want Derek to touch me! Ew!' she tried forcing her mind in a different direction. 'Stepbrother, Casey. He's your immature, annoying stepbrother. Your stupid, pathetic, arrogant, smart ass, rude, totally hot- Oh my God.'

"Oh my God." Casey gasped aloud. "No! Stay there!" Casey pointed an accusing finger at Derek as he took slow steps towards her.

"Just so you know, I refuse to be commanded to do something as if I were a dog. What's wrong with you?" Derek was still smirking as he stepped closer. The toe of his shoe met with hers. "Does it make you squirmy to be in such close proximity to me? Because if I recall, you're the one that likes to cause all of our intriguing little physical fights."

"Derek." Casey's voice wavered a little but there was definitely a warning tone to it.

"Casey." He taunted. She stopped breathing all together. He was really close now. Too close. 

Derek wasn't sure what the hell he was doing now. It was as if his brain was on autopilot. Initially his plan was to get her a little hot and bothered and back off. He thought his plan to be genius. Whenever he felt these insane attractions to Casey, he would simply use it to his advantage while annoying the hell out of her. Everyone wins. But now? He wanted to know how in the world Casey could get him hot then shut him down without batting an eyelash and he couldn't even stand close to her without stopping his lips from magnetically being dragged to hers.

"Derek…" Casey mumbled pathetically. She had pretty much given up and her eyes were beginning to drift close in anticipation.

Derek stopped leaning towards her. If he wanted to get her back for earlier, he needed to take this chance that was given to him. Regaining control of his thoughts, he forced himself to stand up straight and then turned around and headed for the door that lead back into the park.

When Casey felt the heat around her body evaporating, she opened her eyes and found herself standing in an empty room. 'Stupid girl.' Casey scolded herself. 'Damn.' He was good.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Casey scowled at the thought. Who did he think he was anyway? She wasn't some stupid slut at school who he could play mind tricks on. Yet here she was again, eyes falling shut yet again, as Derek leaned towards her with that stupid smug look on his face.

"Screw you." She whispered angrily and stomped out of her room and down the stairs.

Derek squinted his eyes shut and smacked his forehead as he let himself continue to lean forward until eventually he fell onto Casey's bed. "You are the biggest jackass that ever walked this earth my friend." Derek groaned before dragging himself up to his feet and back to his room. That spaghetti definitely didn't look anymore appetizing.

Derek laid in his bed and thought of his supposed genius plan he had once had. It all seemed so stupid now that he started to laugh. 'Are you kidding me? You actually thought that you could bug Casey by taking out your attractions on her and think that it wouldn't affect you in the slightest?' Well technically that wasn't true. He had learned later on in that park that it would have some very big effects on him. Of course, there was no time to think about this as he was summoned to dinner.

The table was eerily quiet. Three of the kids were missing after all. George tried to fill the awkward silence with his lame jokes as Nora just shot him signals to stop before everyone felt embarrassed.

Casey spooned the last bit of food into her mouth and asked to be excused. "Yeah me too!" Derek said rather loudly and very quickly.

Nora just sighed and motioned for them to head upstairs as she continued to try and steer George's thoughts away from his 'glory days' before he busted out into some random 80's tune.

Casey walked quickly up the stairs and wasn't too surprised when she pushed her door, but didn't hear it close. "Derek, get out." She said without turning around. She began searching through her CDs for something to listen to.

"No. You say you wanna talk, then talk. And don't think I give out these kinds of opportunities all the time. You'd do well to take advantage of this historic moment in history." Derek joked a little too soon.

She slammed a CD violently onto her dresser and turned around, fire about to shoot out of her eyes. "What part of 'get out' do you always have trouble understanding? Let me make this easier for you." She grabbed the CD she had thrown on her dresser and hurled it at Derek's head. He was able to dodge it within an inch of slicing his ear off.

"Casey, what the-?!" A book zooming past his shoulder cut him off. When she reached for her lamp, he knew he wasn't going to be able to talk to her tonight and opted to keep his life as he scrambled out of her room and shut the door.

Once inside the safety of his own four walls, he sighed heavily and flopped onto his bed. "Now I can't wait for tomorrow. I wonder if 'Connie Says So' will consider merging with the WWE after the next episode." Derek laughed bitterly before shutting his eyes and forcing himself to sleep.

Casey was sprawled out on her bed also. "Maybe you do tend to overreact." She said aloud. After all, she had nearly taken Derek's head off with bedroom furniture. But she had every right to be angry. Derek couldn't turn on the charm whenever the hell he felt like it and pretend that everything was peachy keen. Not this time. Casey turned over and punched her pillow roughly into shape. One last memory floated into her mind before she drifted into the realm of unconsciousness.

………………………………………………………………………………

_ Casey stormed out of the restaurant and headed further into the park to find the bane of her existence. She would never forgive herself if he got the last word. Or action in this case._

'Thank God for the moon' Casey thought. The park was pitch black. If it weren't for the faint glint of light, she would be back in the restaurant cowering under a tablecloth. "Ugh, where is he?" She wondered aloud. All she wanted was to find Derek and get some sleep. As much as she hated him, being alone in an empty park was worse.

Casey took a few more steps and stopped when she heard a noise behind her. Her heart was slamming against her chest and she wouldn't even turn around. Suddenly, something brushed against her arms and a figure rounded into view. Casey screamed and almost made a run for it, when the figure grabbed her arm.

"You can't be serious. What, did you think I was Sasquatch or something?" Derek looked at her as if she were nuts, but a faint smile was present.

"Now that you mention it, there is somewhat of a striking resemblance." Casey bounced back from her embarrassing spaz attack to hold up her end of the insults.

_  
Derek just rolled his eyes. Boy, was she stubborn. Always has to settle for the last word… "Whatever. Do you think you could muster the courage to walk a few more feet? I found a place to camp out for the night. That is, if aliens haven't touched down and invaded the place already."_

"Ha ha." Casey grudgingly followed Derek to a kid's funhouse. She was too tired to protest at this pathetic excuse for a hotel, so instead she continued inside and threw herself onto a giant beanbag in the corner of one of the rooms. Derek stretched out on the one right next to her.

For some reason, he couldn't ignore the voice in the back of his head. It was tugging at his brain, forcing him to make amends with Casey. He admitted he still felt bad for what he had done and was kind of tired of Casey huffing every 5th second to show she was still pissed off.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bright pink plastic ring with a cheesy looking stone snapped on. Sighing at his wimpy action, he tossed the ring over to Casey and turned over on his beanbag. She grabbed it and turned to look back at him. "What's this?" she asked suspiciously.

"I was gonna give it to some chick today, but I figured Marti might want it. And now you won't stop moping so I thought maybe it would quit your pouting long enough for me to get some sleep. So just take it and forget about it." Derek said as quickly as possible.

Casey opened her mouth to respond but Derek let out a fake snore, clearly indicating he was done talking. So instead, Casey simply smiled and slipped the ring on her finger.

"Goodnight Derek" she whispered and turned over as well to sleep.

Derek rolled his eyes at how corny chicks can be when they get even the cheapest present, but even so, a smile crept up on his own lips and he found it much easier to fall asleep.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Casey was smiling in her sleep, her hands tucked under her chin and a light snoring escaping her mouth.

Derek stood at the entrance to her doorway, watching the smile form on her lips. He wondered what she could possibly be thinking about to make her so happy.

"Derek…" Casey mumbled in her sleep. As she turned to lie on her back, her hand slipped and a shiny object fell to the floor.

Derek looked down at the item curiously. He walked over and picked it up and the familiar thing instantly brought a smirk to his lips.Very carefully he reached out for Casey's hand and slipped the ring back on her finger before sneaking back to his own bed.

**Haha awwww I wish that would really happen. Or that Derek would give Casey something at all…of course there was always that cell phone! Anyway, once again my chapter has taken on a life of it's own, but I kinda like it. You'll have to stay tuned to figure out what Derek did to piss Casey off so much! Hehe… You know what else I like? The story "Beautiful Oblivion". Go read it! Peace out dawgs ;) lol  
xo, Christina**__


	7. Spying is a Turn On

**He Said She Said**

A/N: Please don't shoot me! I know I haven't updated in forever…I don't know what my problem is. I guess school has really been filling up my time. But it's Spring Break now so expect more updates:-D Just a few things to share…I had my 18th birthday on the 14th (yay, I'm legal haha), I just had my prom on Saturday and I've made 2 Dasey videos on youtube! Check out my ff profile for the links! And this is totally random, but I thought that they changed the place of the toilet in the bathroom in the party episode, but then I realized that Derek was actually sitting on a chair in front of the sink, not the toilet, so nevermind! haha  
Oh, and if anyone gets confused in this chapter, remember back to chapter 3 when Derek said he'd seen Casey go on only one ride…

**Disclaimer: **Michael Seater is mine!! Wakes up. …Bummer.

**Chapter 7: Spying is a Turn On**

Casey woke up to the bitter sound of her screeching alarm clock. Without a second thought, she had ripped it from the wall and chucked it across the room. Today was part two of "Talk Show Humiliation."

Derek's reaction in the next room had been quite similar. He could make a mental list of anything that he'd rather be doing than going back to that god-forsaken talk show. Number 1? Chop off his fingers with a spoon. A close second was submerging his head in the nearest port-a-potty for 5 hours.

The sound of slamming drawers could be heard throughout the hallway as they both got dressed. A little less audible, but nonetheless present were a few cranky grumblings that more than likely contained some curse words.

In the midst of this gloomy morning, Casey had somewhat of a plan formulating in her head as she slipped into her shoes. Due to her "rage blackout" last night, she had completely forgotten that she was possibly considering apologizing to Derek for nearly taking his head off with a CD. All she could think of was how angry she was at him. And to her, there was no better revenge than letting some information on Derek "slip" on a public talk show. Connie wanted a story and she was about to get one. No defensive remarks, no white lies. The truth may hurt, but it was merely a dent in what Derek had done to Casey over the years.

Absently, Casey noticed the ring had somehow made its way back onto her finger. Without a second thought, she slipped it off and tossed it onto her dresser. She turned to her door, ready to grab some breakfast and leave, but the tiny object kept flashing at her in her peripheral vision. Sighing loudly and with an exaggerated eye roll, she grabbed this stupid plastic thing that was nagging at her conscience and stuffed it into her front pants pocket. 'Baby steps', Casey tried to remind herself.

The ride to the studio was identical to yesterday. Not a word slipped from anyone's mouth besides the occasional break in silence from Nora who would be shushed immediately by George arguing that he needed to concentrate on the road. That was just fine with Derek and Casey.

They sat in that dreaded green room once again, only to be called out (this time together) by that grumpy man with a clipboard. They smiled politely at the warm welcoming applause they received when they crossed the stage, but the sulky, angry frowns appeared once more when they settled onto their usual places on the couch.

"Welcome back! Forgive me for bringing this up so soon, but neither of you seem to be in a better mood compared to yesterday. Looks like we still need to resolve these conflicting issues. So whenever you're ready, we're all dying to hear the next part of the story!" Connie didn't waste any time.

Derek had been carefully devising a plot in his mind to divert the topic away from the story and get them off this show once and for all. But all his plans were shattered when he barely opened his mouth to be interrupted by Casey.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Connie. We haven't been telling you the full truth, but today I feel like I must tell you everything." She turned to a wide-eyed Derek. "After all, that's the only real way to solve our differences, right Derek?"

She didn't wait for a response. Instead, Casey flipped her hair over her shoulder, turned back towards Connie and began her evil plan…err, story.  
They had originally left off before the whole food fight, but Casey decided to skip over all of that. "Derek and I decided to spend the night in a kid's funhouse. We slept on beanbags, because they were the only things remotely close to resembling a bed. But whatever…."

_Casey had slept for a full five minutes, before she had awoken and sat up so abruptly that she fell right off of her beanbag. The clumsy thud was followed by an annoyed response from Derek._

"Casey, I know you're a klutz, but do you think you could at least sleep like a normal human being or maybe fall down a little quieter. I'm trying to sleep."

"Oh, it's ok Derek. Really, don't bother getting up. I'm fine." Casey grunted as she managed to shake off enough sleep to pull herself to a kneeling position. Derek didn't even respond. The fake snores were starting to escape his mouth again.

"Derek…" Casey whined. Louder snoring. "Der-ek…"

"WHAT?!"

"I can't sleep." She said simply with an exaggerated pout.

"Yeah? Cry me a river. That's not my problem." Derek tried to sound as careless as he could manage as he turned his back to Casey, when in all reality he found her 5-year-old expression to be completely endearing. It was useless. He couldn't go back to sleep now and that really annoyed him. Derek loved sleeping. It was at the top of his list next to girls and eating.

A question broke the silence. A question that Casey tried to play off as nothing when curiosity was clearly etched all over it.

"How did you know what rides I'd been on today?"

She could see his form freeze up when his breathing hitched. She could also see all the lies bouncing around in his head to formulate a response to her question. Instead, he answered with a question of his own. Some people would like to call this 'avoidance'.

"Don't you mean yesterday? In case you haven't noticed, it's 1 o' clock in the morning. Call me crazy, but humans like to do this thing called sleeping_ around this time."_

"I guess that doesn't apply to you, then." Casey quipped. "But seriously, how did you know? I don't think I'm that_ predictable."_

And when avoidance doesn't work? Deny, deny, deny.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Casey laughed. "Wow, I would've expected a response from you to be a little more clever than that."

Derek was sick of faking sleep, so he sat up and looked Casey directly in the eye. "What do you want me to say? I can't pretend to know how to speak 'freak'. I. Don't. Know. What. You're. Talking. About." Derek drew out the syllables slowly with a hint of impatience in his voice. He turned his head away, but it was too late. Casey saw the flash in his eyes that only she could detect when Derek was lying.

"It's sad to see how you've lost your touch." Casey shook her head in mock disappointment.

"Almost as sad as how you're pathetically trying to gain the least bit of attention?"

"Oooh, that was better. Try it again with a little more feeling." Casey smirked at how much Derek was squirming right now. When Derek's only response was narrowing his eyes and shooting imaginary laser beams, she continued. "It's just a question. I mean it's not like you were stalking me or something." She joked.

Silence.

"Derek?" She questioned a little timidly. She was still kneeling next to his beanbag and had to crane her neck down to look into his eyes. He was sitting with his arms folded on his knees, hunched over, staring at the ground.

"Please, Case. The only reason I had the unfortunate experience of crossing your path is because Veronica had the same lame taste in rides as you do." Derek was beginning to gain his footing once more.

"Who's Veronica?"

"Some hot ride attendant I picked up when she was on her break." He shrugged.

Casey immediately thought back to when they had first arrived at Planet Joyride. She had been abandoned by Derek who had gone off to flirt with a ride attendant. 'Veronica.' She thought as she unconsciously glared off into space. Derek smirked at her obvious jealousy.

Just then, Casey let a smirk of her own form. She remembered when she had seen Derek after she had gotten off of the "Fluffy Kitten" ride and immediately ducked into a souvenir shop to avoid him. She remembered that he had been all alone.

"Oh, you mean Veronica, the imaginary_ ride attendant?" She asked him smugly._

"Excuse me?" Derek asked warily.

"I saw you Derek. After I got off the "lame ride", I saw you. And there was no one with you." She grinned triumphantly. The great Derek Venturi was cornered.

He seemed unfazed however. In fact, a triumphant grin was beginning to form on his face as well. "Wait a second. You just admitted that you_ were the one spying on _me._"_

"I did not! Don't even try to twist my words around on me!" Casey cried out angrily. How is it that he always managed to win the fights when he had clearly been at fault? She wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"You just said that you were watching me. That must explain why you ran into the nearest gift shop to hide." He laughed. Casey always compared that type of laugh to what a demon would sound like.

"First of all, I said I had seen_ you. As in a freak accident that happened when my poor eyes mistakenly looked in your direction. I wasn't _watching_ you! Stop trying to avoid the obvious! You were following me today!" Casey had now sprung to her feet and was pointing her finger accusingly at Derek. She was beginning to get a little over excited as she came to more realizations._

Derek paused a moment too long. "Ah ha!" Casey yelled as her eyes lit up. "You're out of excuses! I am so right! Admit it!" She had to control herself from performing a triumphant river dance right then and there.

Derek stood up. His expression was unreadable. He took two steps towards Casey so that he was in her face for the umpteenth time that day. "No."

Casey's body slumped and her eyes widened in disbelief. "What?!" She shrieked angrily. "I just proved you wrong and you're still going to stand there and lie to my face?!"

"Yup." He smirked at her and folded his arms.

Casey could've screamed and thrown herself on the floor in a great tantrum like Derek wanted. But, no. She stood her ground and narrowed her eyes at Derek.

Casey paused for a moment in her story. She had already gotten a few interruptions from Derek but she had ignored them and continued with her story. Now she was the one that was beginning to feel embarrassed.

If she continued the story, that would mean that she would get her revenge, but she would also ruin what little reputation _she_ had. She looked over at Derek. He was shooting daggers out of his eyes at her.

Then Casey decided it was a risk she was willing to take. She remembered why she needed to do this in the first place. Because Derek was a cruel, insensitive, stupid, arrogant jerk and he needed to be taught a lesson.

"I…" she began slowly, turning to the audience. Thankfully, George and Nora had work that day. The only reason Derek and Casey could be there was because it was their Spring Break.

Casey gave herself a minute to think back to what had happened.__

……………………………………………………………………………………… 

"I hate you." Casey spat, her rage threatening to spill over.

The smirk grew wider. "Trust me, the feeling's mutual."

That smirk. Casey clenched a fist at her side. Ever since she had met Derek, all she wanted to do was smack that stupid smirk right off of his face. She couldn't see a better opportunity than the present.

Swiftly, Casey's arm lifted and swung back, but Derek was quicker and caught her wrist and also caught Casey off guard. She stumbled and grabbed Derek's shoulder before she could fall backward. Instinctively, he had grabbed her waist.

Ah, the always convenient, awkward position. Casey snapped her head up to look at Derek in surprise. 'This is not happening.' Casey thought dumbly as she stared at Derek. She was a little stunned at how they had arrived in this position and suddenly felt like she had to gasp for air. Derek wasn't exactly calm and collected either. He didn't even know what the hell he was still holding her for.

Hearts pounding and minds racing, there seemed to be only one logical thing left to do. Derek captured Casey's lips before she even had a chance to blink.

No really, she literally did not blink. Her eyes widened when she felt Derek's lips press against her own and her brain went into shock. The only thing she was able to process was one question that echoed in her ears like crazy. 'How the hell did this happen?' She didn't have an answer and ultimately decided that she didn't care. Instead, she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed right back.

………………………………………………………………………………………

"Well?" If Connie were any closer to the edge of her seat, she would've fallen off.

"Derek kissed me."

Casey didn't report this with any kind of arrogance as she had planned to. Instead, her eyes were downcast to the floor and her response was barely above a whisper.

After Casey's declaration, an intense silence fell over the room. She was afraid to look up and see all the disapproving looks from the audience members, not to mention Derek probably looked like he was beginning his transformation into the Incredible Hulk.

Casey and Derek jumped a mile in their seats when the entire room burst into applause. Cheers rung out from the audience as well as the crew and even Connie was smiling at them. "We thought you guys would never realize all that intense attraction."

"What?!" Derek shouted. Casey snapped out of her confusion for a moment to glance at Derek.

"You guys are mental! There is no attraction going on here!" Derek gestured wildly between Casey and himself as he stood up in frustration. "How clear do I have to make it that the mere existence of Casey is enough to make me hate my life?!"

Casey's jaw dropped and angry tears began to sting in her eyes. She stood up roughly and looked Derek directly in the eye. "Well, if I'm such a burden in your life, then you must have a damn good reason for kissing me." She kept her voice even and strong though inside she felt like she was being repeatedly punched in the stomach. 

"Sure." Derek shrugged similar to when he had told Casey about Veronica. "It was an accident. A mistake, even."

The crown went from cheers, to silence, to disbelieving gasps and jeers at Derek's harsh words. Casey didn't hear any of this. The blood that was rushing in her ears was enough to block out all sound.

She knew what she wanted to do. She could turn on her heel and run backstage in tears as the camera chased after her to show her mascara- streaked face to the world. She could let Derek get the satisfaction of seeing her cry, knowing that he had won the battle. But she didn't.

"I suppose you think that it meant something to me and that I'm supposed to be crushed now or something. Well, for your information, that little "mistake" meant absolutely nothing to me." She narrowed her eyes a little more before adding, "Kind of how I feel about you."

Derek didn't even blink. In fact, he was _smiling._ This made Casey angrier than she had ever been. It wasn't fair. Derek was a complete robot devoid of emotion while she was falling to pieces. She didn't even think someone so heartless was in existence. Not even Derek.

"You're such a liar, Case." He said with a slightly amused tone to his voice.

"Oh really? And just how did you come to this brilliant conclusion?" Casey didn't even care that her voice was shaking like hell and the tears were threatening to spill over. All she could think about was the red anger flashing across her eyes, blurring her vision and the fact that she was two seconds away from lunging at Derek and strangling him to death.

Derek didn't even look down as he reached his left hand into her pocket. Without a single word, he withdrew the little pink ring and held it up to her face. Casey's mouth opened and closed, but her brain wouldn't let her formulate any words.

Derek's smile had completely vanished at this point. He opened his hand and let the ring fall to the floor before he turned and disappeared backstage.

"Um." Connie stood shakily to her feet as the stunned cameraman slowly panned toward her. "I think this would be a good time to cut to a commercial."

**Wow. I got a little intense on you guys haha. I always have to have a point in the story where I make Derek look like such an incredible jerk that even _I_ want to punch him in the face. But of course, I would never do such a thing. He's too gorgeous :) Sorry again about the long wait, but I hope it was worth it! Please, please, _please_ review with any thoughts and comments or even if you find some errors! I want to know what you guys think!!! I love you all so much…your warm reviews have made my world a brighter place. :-D  
xo, Christina**__


	8. Hate is a Strong Word

**He Said She Said**

**A/N: **I love you guys to death and I'm so glad that everyone's been nagging at me to remind me that I can't just _leave_ the story at that crucial point. So I would like to extend my deepest apologies for going practically 3 months without an update and an overwhelming gratitude for how you guys continue to show interest in this story. Now that the new season of LwD is showing, you can bet that all the possible hints at dasey will inspire this story further along. Not that I ever lost faith in the duo… watch all those youtube videos I've made during this story's hiatus for proof haha. Speaking of dasey (when are we not?), did you guys see the amazing Disney promo that hinted at Derek and Casey running away together? Or, well, at least sneaking out together. Not to mention the narrator mentioning they might "like" each other. I literally squealed when I watched it… Sigh. Oh and I just thought I'd let you know; I got pretty intense in this chapter… with _everything_ lol. I guess it's from a build-up of dasey fan fiction withdrawal…

**Disclaimer: **I'm too excited to start writing this chapter to waste my time on a witty disclaimer so I'll just state the obvious: I own nothing but the plot.  
**Chapter 8: Hate is a Strong Word. But I Really Don't Like You.**

Derek slammed the door to the greenroom so harshly, it echoed all over the studio. He let his hands clench into fists at his sides as he paced the room, throwing random punches of frustration at the wall. It wasn't even a minute later until the door burst open again and a _very_ red-faced Casey marched into Derek's pacing path. He was unfazed by this and shouldered her roughly out of the way.

Something else was blocking his path now and Derek looked up to see a camera pointed in his face. He reached a hand up and shoved the lens to the side. Despite a slight annoyance from the cameraman, he kept his shot focused on Derek's deathly stare. Casey had turned around just in time to notice Derek's hand clench tightly and his arm begin to swing back. Quickly stepping between Derek and the cameraman, she gently pushed the latter toward the door and urged him to leave. She threw the door shut and span around to face Derek. Neither of them noticed the camera was peaking through the opening crack from where the man stopped the closing door with his foot. Connie stood behind him, desperately trying to sneak a glance into the room.

Derek's back was tensely facing Casey as she stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed defensively. With a deep breath, Derek placed one foot behind the other and slowly turned around. He had expected her to lunge at him full force and beat the living crap out of him or at least give a raging slap to the face, but when he finally faced Casey full on, he was a little surprised to see all the tears running down her face. She was still red and angry as all hell, but nonetheless, she was crying.

"You know," she began with a sniff and a humorless laugh. Her voice was pretty steady considering the circumstances. "It's really kind of funny how you're the one that acts like he was hurt from all of this. But of course it's all part of the act. Derek is always the victim, so I wouldn't expect any less from you. And hey, it probably worked. I mean if Derek makes some dramatic display to show he's mad at someone, everyone will naturally defend him. No need to hear the bitch, Casey's, side of the story."

When she paused briefly in her speech, Derek didn't even bother to sneak in a scathing retort. Because he knew she was absolutely right. There was only one person who should be mad in this situation and it wasn't him. He always had to make himself the victim but this time he had taken it over the top. She had every right to be so angry and get her revenge. But of course, his immediate instinct had been to defend himself and shoot her down by any means necessary.

Derek continued to stand there in stupid silence. He wanted desperately to turn his head and look at something, _anything_, that wasn't Casey, but his eyes were fixed to hers. An angry, stray tear ran down her cheek and Derek felt that awful, familiar pang in his stomach. He hated to see her cry, no matter how much he tried to play it off like he didn't care.

Barely registering what he was doing, Derek took a step toward Casey and cautiously reached his hand out to her. He opened his mouth, struggling to find something to say that could possibly mend a fraction of the situation.

"Don't." she spat threateningly. Derek froze mid-step and slowly shut his mouth. Casey's arms remained crossed as she still felt a little vulnerable, but she forced herself to stand her ground. She shot him a look of daggers through her stinging eyes and he finally managed to drop his hand and withdraw his step.

She was furious that tears were still escaping her eyes and she brushed them away quickly, impatiently, and thoroughly annoyed with herself that he had this effect on her. Bringing her arms back to the same position, she forced herself to stand up taller. So many words were bouncing in her mind, threatening to spill out that she didn't know where to begin. Derek tried to use her pondering silence to his advantage.

"Casey…" he began slightly above a whisper before he was immediately shot down.

"I said don't!" Casey began to find her tongue again. "There's nothing you could possibly say to me right now that'll change a thing. You may find this a little hard to believe considering the many people that fall to their knees begging your forgiveness, but I'm going to give you a little credit here and assume that you know me better than that." She threw her head back and put a hand to her forehead in what seemed to be disbelief. Another bitter laugh escaped her lips before she looked back toward Derek.

"This is ridiculous. You probably think I'm overreacting and to tell you the truth, I'm wondering myself why the hell I'm getting so worked up about this. I mean, it's another typical day. I piss you off, you piss me off, you make me look like an idiot, I cry like the complete loser I am because I can't control my emotions, and you arrogantly walk off, happily knowing you got the last word. But I guess this situation's a little different, because now the order of the fight has changed a bit. I piss you off, you piss me off, you _kiss_ me, and then you…" Casey didn't need to finish this sentence. Derek was already reliving the moment in his head.

……………………………………………………………………………

_His hands were desperately grabbing at her waist, pulling at her shirt trying by any means to bring her closer. She responded to his actions by tugging at his hair and roaming her hands over his back, scratching him as she pulled at his shirt with the same sense of urgency._

Derek's weight was pushing Casey backward, but they never broke their positions as she pulled him along with her. Her back slammed into a wall and he was thrown roughly against her, pinning her in place. The kiss broke briefly and she groaned from the impact, but Derek quickly turned the noise into a pleasurable one when his lips found hers once again. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her partly opened mouth and they both let a sighing moan escape their lips when Casey's tongue met with Derek's.

Neither of them seemed to notice that they weren't the only ones in the room until a bright light flickered on overhead. Very reluctantly, they forced themselves apart as quick as they could, obviously not wanting to be seen in such a compromising position. However, they were both thoroughly pissed off for the unwanted disruption. Derek and Casey blinked at the light, trying to adjust and find the culprit.

When everything came into focus, Derek really wished it hadn't. A very pissed off girl stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, tossing her hair over her shoulder impatiently waiting an explanation. And just to appear extra bitchy, she began to tap her foot.

"Veronica…" Derek's mind of course immediately began calculating the best excuse to use in this situation. "You work here at 2 in the morning?" He was suddenly confused as to why she would be here 6 hours before the park opened.

"Your parents are, like, going crazy looking for you. They called the cops who contacted the park manager who called me to come down here and help search the park for you…and your stepsister." Veronica turned to Casey and her mouth dropped in realization as her eyes darted back and forth between Derek and Casey. "This IS your stepsister isn't it? They said you went missing together. And to think I was worried about you! I actually thought you liked me from the way you treated me today, but apparently you'll make out with your freakin' sister when you're desperate enough for a girl!" "_Ok whoa, let's get something straight here. She is _NOT_ my sister. She's my stepsister. And we weren't making out! I was just…" Derek glanced over at Casey who now had a very similar expression to Veronica's previous one. Without thinking he said the first lie he could think of. "I was just trying to force her off of me actually. You'll have to excuse me… this sort of thing happens a lot. The girl's been crazy for me since she moved in to my house. I mean can you imagine how awkward that is? And she just won't take no for an answer." It was all spilling out like word vomit and somehow, Derek couldn't stop throwing it up._

Much like Veronica's second reaction, Casey's jaw dropped. 'What!' she thought disbelievingly. If Derek wanted to cover up the situation, he didn't have to make her_ sound like the bad guy here. Hell, "I slipped and her lips broke my fall" would even be more acceptable. Now she sounded like some desperate Derek-fanatical tramp._

_Derek began to move away from Casey and toward Veronica who seemed incredibly and sickeningly understanding. "Wow, that must be so hard for you, I mean you have to live with her and everything. I'm really sorry I jumped to conclusions. And don't worry, I won't mention this to anyone." She shook her head sympathetically and put a hand on his back. She looked over at Casey who was frozen in place due to rage and shock. "But I have to say, I don't blame you Hun. You have got an _amazing_ stepbrother." She batted her eyelashes stupidly up at Derek who smirked down at her. Casey was trying not to gag, let alone come after the two of them with a knife._

"Derek! Casey!" All three looked to the door when they heard Nora and George approaching. Casey ignored them though and looked back at Derek. She tried to appear confident, but when she opened her mouth all she could manage was a choked whisper. "How could you… I can't believe…" Casey's eyes widened a bit and she pointed accusingly at him as she spoke a little louder. "You're_ the one that kissed _me_ and you can't even admit it you…" Her voice lowered again. "You lying, cowardly son of a bitch." Casey stormed passed Derek and Veronica, shoving them both apart on her way out._

"See… she's obsessed. I hope she's not completely crushed, I mean she really loves me." Derek was still laying on the bullshit to Veronica and no matter how fast Casey walked, she somehow couldn't get out of earshot. "Aww, don't feel bad Derek. She'll get over it." Veronica cooed annoyingly. "Yeah… I mean it's not like I lead her on or anything. Um, well let's get out of here." Derek said uneasily as he dragged Veronica out of there as quickly as possible. He needed to catch up to Casey, but he knew it was too late to do anything. His cover up had turned into an endless ramble of lies. Hell, he probably hated himself more than Casey did at the moment.

Casey finally found her mom and George and hugged them both. Nora had launched into a full on rant of how much she was worried while George tried to calm her down. Casey had tuned all this out when she saw who was behind her. Veronica had left for a minute to talk to the police and make sure everything was ok, so Casey just saw Derek, alone, coming right for her.

Before he could open his mouth and begin what he was sure would have to be groveling for forgiveness, Nora and George wrapped him up in a hug and started to fuss over the both of them. Derek tried to calm them down and explain that they weren't 6 year olds who were kidnapped, but they wouldn't have any of it.

Casey was still tuned out to all of this. Everything had turned black around her. All she could see was Derek and that stupid smirk and his pathetic innocent act. All she could think was how much she hated him and how stupid she was for possibly thinking at one point that she might like him. And all she could do was walk up to him and strike the right side of his face. HARD.

_She didn't give a damn what reaction her mom would give her or that the police and park attendants were watching or that Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti had just came onto the scene. They were lucky she wasn't charged with first-degree manslaughter right then and there. Without a word, Casey turned and walked as calmly as she could manage toward the park exit._

………………………………………………………………………………………

Derek felt his stomach drop. Reliving that moment made him hate himself ten times more than before. He looked at Casey who was just standing there quietly. She seemed to be expecting him to say something now. But she was right before… there was nothing he _could_ say. He had royally screwed up and for the first time in his life he didn't know how to fix the situation. He couldn't lie his way out of it and he had no clue what to say.

Derek's silence was enough of a response for Casey, and with an understanding nod she simply said, "That's what I thought." Before she turned away and walked out the door in an all too familiar fashion.

Casey slammed the door behind her and tried to appear normal as she strode down the hallway to the exit, but it was too late. The camera had just exposed the fight to the entire North American continent, not to mention the tears that now spilled freely down Casey's face as she stepped outside and disappeared around a corner.

**OK, I know this chapter was short and I'm sorry, but cut me a break, I need to get back into the swing of things! And hey, it's an update isn't it? lol So now we all know what happened and why Casey hates Derek…Yeah. I told you it would be intense haha sorry I got REALLY into it. Anywayz, leave me lots of reviews cuz I missed getting them! I love you all and I hope you like the new chapter!  
xo, Christina**__


	9. Still Falling

**He Said She Said**

**A/N:** I've done it again, haven't I? "I'll update really soon!" haha um… sorry 'bout that. Hopefully it hasn't been so long that you guys have forgotten about this little story! I was kinda stuck in a writing rut, but thanks to my buddy Amanda AKA Infidi, some ideas have come forth and I'm ready to proceed with the next chapter! Yes, you all want to rip Derek's face off right now, I know. Don't worry, we all know there's a nice guy in there…. deep, deep, deep…. deep down :) I'll bring it out eventually! Oh and think about this: If you succeeded in tearing his face off, this planet would be devoid of the hottest guy possibly EVER. See? You're forgiving him already! Haha…

Oh, btw. "Power Failure". Possibly the most classic dasey episode since the first season. Sigh… amazing.

**Disclaimer: **LwD is far too brilliant for the likes of me… but if I did own it, you can bet it would be much like an OC/Degrassi filled soap opera hehe.

**Chapter 9: Just Because We Hit The Ground,  
Doesn't Mean We're Not Still Falling**

  
Derek walked over to the couch and allowed his body to collapse freely on to it. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and swung his arm across his face. After about a minute of pensive silence, Derek sat bolt upright. Words completely lost, he sputtered in disbelief before quickly striding towards the door.

The cameraman and Connie had been prone in their hiding spot, waiting for Derek to finally come out of the room. Without hesitation, they tiptoed after him down the hall and towards the exit door. They didn't know if he was aware that he was being followed, but ultimately decided they didn't care. This story was just too good.

Derek pushed the exit door's bar handle with an exaggerated force and was fully prepared to search the entire parking lot for Casey if need be. Fortunately, Casey was only leaning on the wall just outside the door. Her head was tilted down and she was facing away from him. His sudden and loud presence didn't even seem to register to her.

With a certain purposeful stride, Derek walked right up to Casey and stood within a couple of feet of her viewing path. She sighed, as if he were something too irritating to deal with at the moment, and slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. Instead of the regret and sympathy she had seen before, his entire face seemed to be clouded over with anger. Casey couldn't help it; she rolled her eyes.

"You almost had me for a second there, Case. Getting all wrapped up in emotion about my complete dickhead actions, making me the only bad guy in this situation. Bravo". Derek began to clap for effect, and the sinister smirk on his lips could only be described as disturbing.

"Don't even start with me, Venturi. You may think what I did was "cruel and terrible", but even you can't say you didn't have it coming."

"Oh, but what's that thing little goody-goodies like you are supposed to have? Compassion? Forgiveness? Self-control? Hmmm, yeah, I really don't recall any of that being used back in the hotel room. Pft, and you think of yourself as the "bigger person". Getting revenge doesn't make you any less evil than me, Case."

Casey opened her mouth, ready to verbally rip him to shreds, but stopped. Did Derek actually have, dare she say it, a… point?

………………………………………………………………………………

_Casey sat in the back of the van, seething. She wished her family would hurry up and just get her out of here. Now if only Derek could walk back to the hotel…_

She jumped slightly when the door to the van slid open. Lizzie crawled inside and took a careful seat next to her sister. They shared a brief glance before Casey turned to look out the window at the dismal scenery of an empty parking lot. She was always able to open up to her sister, but the last thing she felt like doing right now was talking. To anyone for that matter.

However, Lizzie seemed determine to say something so she proceeded as though she had Casey's full attention. "I'm really sorry about all of this, Casey. Blame Edwin and me, we're the ones that left you guys in the park."

Casey looked back at her sister, but she wasn't exactly angry. She was more curious than anything. "Why didn't Mom and George come looking for us sooner?"

"Well, um…" Lizzie laughed nervously. "We sort of told them you guys had gone back to the hotel early to sleep. But that plan backfired tonight when Mom got up in the middle of the night and decided to check on you guys." Lizzie rolled her eyes. "You know how she is."

"Yeah." Casey responded absently before turning back to the window. She forced herself not to let thoughts creep in of what would happen if her mother hadn't woken up. Veronica would've never shown up and…

Casey shook her head violently and forced herself to stop thinking altogether. Just then, the family appeared and everyone started to pile back into the van. Lizzie and Casey remained in the back and Edwin and Derek sat in the row in front of them. Marti had already fallen back asleep and was curled under Derek's arm, her head in his lap. Normally Casey would find this adorable, but right now she was trying to refrain from spitting into his hair.

Nora and George entered the van silently and they drove home with no words being spoken the entire way to the hotel. As soon as they had parked, Casey practically pushed Lizzie out of the van and sped toward the hotel. True, Derek would be in her hotel room eventually, but being in such close quarters with him in the van made her sick. If need be, she'd sleep in the tub tonight.

Absently, Casey grabbed some pajamas from her suitcase and went into the bathroom. She shut the door just as Derek entered into the room. Locking the door, she began to undress and redress, trying to ignore the fact that the person whom she couldn't hate any more on this Earth was right outside the bathroom door.

"How long are you planning to avoid me?" Derek's muffled voice came through the door. "Just because I can't argue with you face to face doesn't mean I can't do it through this door." Silence. "Casey, would you just get out here?" Silence. "I don't even know why you're upset right now. It's not like I was planning to kiss you tonight or anything. We don't even like each other!" Casey exhaled sharply at this from her position on the floor. She was sitting against the door, trying to ignore Derek's rambling and formulate a plan to get out of there. But those words just made her even angrier. 'We don't even like each other.' It was profoundly true that they couldn't even tolerate each other's company for a second, but the way he said it made it sound as if… he didn't even want to kiss her. And the statement seemed completely irrelevant at this point anyway! She noticed he was still speaking.

"And what was I supposed to tell Veronica? 'Yeah, I was just making out with my stepsister. What's the big deal?' Come on, I know that stupid logical side of your brain has to be listening to me right now. This is ridiculous, you're being a such a drama queen!"

Casey stood up and reached for the doorknob, but stopped herself suddenly. Either she could go out there and scream at Derek like she always did, or she could really get him back. Revenge seemed like a much sweeter option at the moment. Drama queen, eh? She'd show him a drama queen.

Casey turned toward the mirror to analyze her appearance. She used her fingers to mess her hair up a bit and tugged at her PJ pants so they were sitting low on her hips. She adjusted her tank top so that the bottom of the shirt was raised a little higher and the neckline was pulled down a bit lower. With a villainous smirk, she turned back toward the door and opened it slowly, leaning against the arch of the doorway.

"Finally." Derek sighed irritably and threw the door open all the way. He pushed his sleeves up, ready for a good old-fashioned brawl when he stopped and actually looked_ at Casey. The look on her face alone sent a chill up his spine. His stomach felt like it was doing back flips and his mouth went dry._

"Is that all?" Casey smiled seductively up at him as if his insults were some kind of turn-on for her. Oooo-kay, this was scary. "You forgot to call me a prude, stuck-up, preppy princess."

"No, I didn't forget…" Derek said distractedly. His eyes were fixed on Casey. "I was saving that for later." His eyes were narrowed as if he were trying to see through whoever this person was in front of him, and trying to find the real Casey.

"Look, I'm really sorry, ok? I guess I was just a little…" Casey walked slowly toward him as he began to walk backward, toward the chair at the other end of the room. She stopped when she saw his legs hit the back of the chair. "Jealous."

"J-jealous?" Derek stuttered. He couldn't exactly comprehend what was going on right now. Casey began to walk toward him again but he didn't bother to move. He really had nowhere to go anyway.

"Well, you obviously like Veronica. And well, I know you don't like me. I guess I would've rather been in her place."

"Wait, what the hell are you saying? You want me to like you? You were jealous, because you like me?" Derek was speaking as though the words should never come out of his mouth. And he was laughing. This was all completely ludicrous and mind-numbingly confusing.

"What's not to like?" Casey smiled coyly and shrugged. It became clear to Derek that whoever this person was, it definitely wasn't Casey McDonald. Was she… flirting_ with him?_

"So you really don't like me? Not even a little _bit?" Casey walked straight up to him and lightly pushed him into the chair._

"Well, I… I mean I don't… I only said we don't like each other, 'cause I figured you hate me. I mean you do hate me. What the hell is wrong with you right now?" Derek was trying to fight the urge to give into Casey's alter ego. While he was stuttering out his sentence, she had begun to straddle his lap.

"Oh, Derek," she cooed into his ear before biting down. Derek groaned, then immediately leaned back. He couldn't give in to whatever game she was playing right now.

"Do you really still think that?" She looked into his eyes innocently. Derek's eyes widened. "Yes, I do. Because it's true. Casey, just stop this." Derek tried to move farther back in his chair, as if to escape her, but it was completely useless.

She leaned back into him and began to kiss her way down his neck and back up, working her way toward his mouth. Derek's eyes rolled back slightly and in one last pathetic attempt at not giving in, he weakly tried to push Casey off his lap. She barely wavered as her lips finally met his and all attempts of fighting Casey off were lost. Derek grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her fiercely. She smiled against his lips and returned the kiss, nearly bruising their lips.

Trying to keep her mind steady, she pulled back to breath. "How about now?" she whispered, her forehead pressed against his. Derek smirked and replied, "I think you're convincing me to change my mind."

She smiled and kissed him softly. "Good." She readjusted herself in his lap and ran her nails down the sides of his arms. "Because I don't hate you Derek…" She began to stand up and pulled Derek up with her. She craned her neck up toward his ear, her hands still placed on his arms and his arms still around her waist. After a few steady breathes she whispered, "I completely loathe and despise you."

Casey's hands clutched around Derek's arms and in one swift motion she jerked her knee up with as much force as she could manage. Derek fell back into the chair and doubled over, coughing.

Casey looked down at him as though he were a completely pathetic waste of space. "DON'T. Fuck. With girl's emotions."

She walked out the door with a triumphant smile on her face, before turning to Edwin and Lizzie's room. Looks like she'd have to bunk with her sister tonight.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

After replaying the event in her mind, Casey actually began to laugh. Derek's rage was now spilling over. They were about to tear each other's throats out and she was _laughing?_

Casey's eyes met Derek and the giggles subsided. "Please, Derek. Don't get all bent out of shape. I'm sure you'll be able to produce children _some_ day." That look was clear in her eyes. The look that Derek always got when he was so easily triumphing over an argument.

"Oh, you wanna role-play now, is that it? Well if you're gonna be me, you might want to think of a slightly more intelligent insult. And hey, now that I'm you, I don't have to try to do anything. I'll just cry a little bit and run back inside." He managed to flip the tables once again and now he was the one wearing that evil smirk.

Casey stepped right into his space and looked up at him with a rather blank expression. "I feel sorry for you." She said simply, shaking her head sympathetically.

Derek actually let out a full, hearty laugh at this. "Ok, time for Reverse-Psychology-Casey. Go on, give it your best shot." He grinned down at her, arms folded, ready for any stupid thing she had to throw at him.

Casey's eyebrows knitted together in disbelief and frustration. "You really do lack any kind of a conscience don't you? That's too bad. I guess you'll never know how it feels when you truly rip a girl's heart in half almost everyday. Sympathy isn't even something you would recognize if it picked up a machine gun and aimed it directly at your face. It's just sad is all; you're not even a full person. And since you can't even mumble two little words to me, _meaningfully,_ I guess you never will be."

Then, unexpectedly, Derek was the one to turn and walk away. Since when did Casey get the last scathing retort? She didn't win the battles, Derek did. Maybe it was the fact that her words cut him so deep, he had lost the breath to speak? Dammit. He really needed to brainstorm his tactics before he tried to start an accusatory argument. That was just another difference between Casey and Derek.

Good thing opposites attract, right?

**Alrighty, that's all I got for now. I'm pretty sure that's the way I intended this chapter to go… If I left any ideas out it's because so many were running around in my head, it was hard to type them all out before they escaped! Next chapter, I promise to try and take it down a notch. I think I've been so OC deprived, that I'll do and say anything to cause ridiculous drama. But yeah, next chapter we should be leaving this crazy talk show behind and trying to get back into the "normal" setting. Well it won't be too normal considering the situation, but anyways, I'm rambling! Pweeease review, because every single one of my readers is truly lovely and I am so happy when I hear from you guys. Thanks for staying with me and my insane ups and downs! Ok now go click that button and give me a couple words to read!**


	10. The Great Escape

**He Said She Said**

A/N: Oh my Lord. So um…I guess there's no way to begin how sorry I am that this update took forever and 5 million years. Buuuut thanks to Anna (aka Infidiiii…with one i) I shall try and continue. Please excuse the rustiness…we all know how long it's been. And while I'm at this a/n, I would like to say…Disney Channel. You suck arse. Majorly.

**Disclaimer:** IF I owned LwD, I wouldn't treat it as crappily as the stupid Disney Channel and if I told everyone the new episode would be a certain day I would effing PLAY IT that day! Gahhhh. Um sorry.

**Chapter 10: The Great Escape**

No matter how close Casey edged toward the car door, there would never be enough room to gain a satisfying space between her and Derek. Then again, she couldn't exactly edge her seat to South Africa. So she remained with her head lying on the open window, allowing the wind to block out all sounds, smell, and since her hair was being whipped into her eyes, sight of Derek.

It seemed like hours before their parents were able to pick them up. In reality, it was only about twenty minutes. In that period of time, Derek remained in the green room while Casey slumped to a sitting position outside. The camera crew and Connie returned to the set to show the audience the wonderful footage they had just caught on tape. Sure, it was still confusing as hell since they didn't know the background story, but it was drama and that's good enough for any daytime talk show.****

Derek tried to focus his attention out the window, but after the five millionth insurance billboard, he couldn't help but let his attention drift elsewhere. Derek glanced over at Casey. He knew she was trying to fake like she was asleep, when really she was silently trying to cast curses in his direction with her mind. This was going to be a long car ride…

………………………………………………………………………………

**  
**_Casey woke with a sudden start. Stupid dreams…well…nightmares would be the correct term. She couldn't escape them last night. And to make it worse they really didn't make a bit of sense. But they all ultimately ended with the same scene:_

Casey would stumble around the empty amusement park, flashlight in hand. She was searching, but she wasn't even sure what she was searching for. Then she would lay eyes on the fun house and some crazy bell would go off in her head like this was what she had been looking for all along. She would run toward the fun house and yank the door open, looking around the room wildly. Directly in front of her, she saw herself. Confused, she would finally realize it's a mirror, but there was something different about this mirror. The Casey that stood in front of her had tears streaked across her entire face. And there she would stand, alone and confused, until the ground collapsed and she fell through, barely being able to contain her screams as she jumped up in bed, wide awake.

Groaning, Lizzie sat up rubbing her eyes. "Casey…" she grumbled irritatedly.

"Sorry, Liz", Casey looked apologetic. "I'm seriously going to go sleep in the tub now."

"Don't bother", Lizzie smiled at her and pointed to the clock on the side table. "It's morning."

Casey laughed but still apologized once more. She had kept Lizzie up all night with her sudden awakenings. Edwin on the other hand had remained passed out and completely oblivious to all of this. Typical…

Somewhere in the four walls that surrounded her, she could hear her family waking up in the separate rooms. With a heaving sigh, she threw herself back under the blankets, unable to face any of them. She wasn't sure what she feared more: the parental lecture, or the rage from Derek.  
She came to the conclusion that she disliked them both equally and would therefore avoid like crazy.

After several failed attempts from Lizzie to get her sister out of the bed, she gave up and then headed toward her other impossible test: waking Edwin up from his death snore.

Casey wasn't sure how long she remained there. Bored and a little anxious, she headed into the bathroom to slowly get ready. And by slowly, she moved at the rate of a snail if it meant she didn't have to see her family right away.

After taking a shower, getting dressed, and styling her hair, she was finally applying her makeup before she heard a knock at the door. Casey reached for the knob without thinking (Lizzie and Edwin had been pestering her to come out all morning). "Fine, take the bathroom! Can't I have a minute of pri-" Casey stopped abruptly and her eyes turned cold.  
Who let Derek in here?

As if reading her mind he simply shrugged and said "I let Ed and Liz use my bathroom. Seems someone was hogging theirs with a two hour shower. Lizzie isn't happy with that by the way. Something about how water isn't such a renewable resource like it used to be…?" Derek stared off into space for a minute before shrugging again and going to sit down on the bed.

"Um leave? Now?" Casey's question wasn't really a question. It was a demand. Which only meant that Derek was intrigued and would stay even longer. Groaning loudly at Derek's smug grin, Casey walked back into the bathroom to finish her makeup.

Before Derek could even begin the interrogation, there was a loud knock at the door, and before either person could flinch, the door burst open and George and Nora walked in. They shut the door firmly behind them and eyed the two teenagers angrily. No matter how much they despised each other right now, they couldn't help but pass an agonizing "here we go" look between themselves.

George raised a hand dramatically and opened his mouth to yell, but Nora was way ahead of him. "Do you guys have any idea what we've been through yesterday? We nearly had a heart attack when we found you weren't anywhere in the hotel. And then we find you locked inside an amusement park? What kind of-"

"Mom!" Casey was rarely one to raise her voice at her mother, but this was so not the time. "Look, excuse us for faulty doorknobs inside haunted houses. I'll take full responsibility if you would just not do this right now. Yes, we're aware we're in trouble. But just go ahead and ground us or something, I'm in no mood to stay in this room with this…thing" _Casey passes a quick death glare to Derek "_ _and listen to you shout at me!"_

"Casey!" George and Nora yelled after her, outraged. But she was already around the corner and down the hallway. Derek, who sat quietly on the bed, amused by this whole spectacle, leapt up and followed Casey out the door.

"Bad girls, Bad girls. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" Derek sang, skipping easily along Casey's fast, angry stride. The angrier Casey's expression became, the wider Derek's grin would spread. "Aww, what's wrong? You don't like sing-a-longs Case?"

Casey stopped so short, she nearly toppled over, but before she could, she rounded on Derek. "You think this is funny?! We're probably going to be grounded for eternity. And ugh! Why am I even talking to you?"

"Oh I don't know. It's probably my damn irresistibility. And it's only an added bonus that it irritates you so much."

"You nauseate me."

Derek continued to laugh at her as the elevator doors closed in his face.

"Finally", Casey sighed the second Derek's taunting gaze was out of view. She slid to the floor and let herself cry. She hated herself for it. So much. But she was so lost she didn't care. She needed this.

The elevator doors opened again and she sped through the lobby and out the front doors. Little did she know, Derek found the stairs much quicker. He was on her heels in no time. "I'm kind of hungry. Mind if we stop and get a bit before you continue your rage sprint?"

Casey didn't even react to his presence. She headed straight for the bus stop and sat down, firmly turning around so that her back was to Derek.  
"Wow. Running away on a bus. How very " teen drama" of you. Only one problem Case…you're supposed to run AWAY from home. Not to it."

"GO AWAY!" Casey didn't mean for her voice to crack. She was supposed to sound strong and resentful. Now she just felt pathetic.

Derek quickly managed to force the reflection of surprise out of his eyes. Casey rarely screamed…and rarely sounded so weak doing it. Derek sighed heavily and threw up his arms as a sign of giving up. He was ready to turn on his heel when she finally spoke.

"It's just…" Casey took a deep breath and let it out. She sniffed, breathed again, and began to start over. "It's just that I really don't want to bring this up. What happened, I mean. Ever again. And you're making this really difficult to accomplish right now."

"Well don't think I like to bring it up either-" Derek was cut off by a loud sound of disbelief from Casey.

"Please! You'll do anything to make me feel miserable. It doesn't matter what it is, because nothing affects you in the least. It's like you feel absolutely nothing." Ouch.

This made Derek angry. He could see how she felt that way from her point of view, but he needed to defend himself. That's not how it is. "Casey, as difficult a concept as this is for you to grasp, I am a human being. I just don't analyze and knit pick every stupid detail of the day like a girl does."

"So you're saying the fact that you made out with your step-sister is just another stupid detail of the day?" Derek couldn't decide if Casey was angry, sad, shocked, or a combination of the three. Either way, he really didn't like the look in her eyes right now. And the way they changed from a fierce emotion to practically dead so quickly, scared him.

"Just forget it. You never understood and you never will." Casey stared away with blank eyes.

"Oh my Gahhh! That's exactly it, right there! Maybe I would have a fucking clue if you told me what the hell you mean half the time!"

Casey shrugged. She seemed unabashed by his sudden outburst. "If you have to ask, you'll never know."

"Yeah, ok, thanks for the straight answers Confucius. I think I'll just go jump off a bridge now. Anything makes more sense than you."

Luckily, Casey thought, Derek didn't notice the wince she let out when he said that. Despite her feelings of wanting to go back to the hotel with him, she refused. She would rather be on a bus ride alone to her house, than be locked up in a car with Derek Venturi for that long. Again.

Sighing as the bus pulled up, Casey hoped her family would be decent enough to bring her clothes back to the house.

Derek had slightly bigger things to worry about once he got back to the hotel. Namely, how in the hell he would explain Casey taking off on a bus by herself. The more he thought about it, the slower he walked. He didn't want to be anywhere near that hotel. He had only heard about 1/500 of the lecture earlier he was sure to hear when he got back.

With no real conscious thought at all, Derek turned back the other direction and began walking at a faster pace. His steps quickened when he saw the bus pull into view. When he saw Casey step on he nearly made a run for it. With a slight crash into the side of the doors, Derek fumbled up the steps and ducked into a seat at the front. Casey had dragged herself toward the back. Derek would talk to her eventually… right now he just had to stop his mind from spinning and also let Casey cool off.

"So you're saying the fact that you made out with your step-sister is just another stupid detail of the day?"…those words kind of stung. He hated that she had to throw the dreaded "s" word in there. It made all this seem so much worse than it was.

So he thinks Casey is attractive. So it was just a random moment where they couldn't control their hormones. So what if he had maybe wanted to kiss her since the first day she moved in? Wait, what?!

Derek slammed his head against the window, willing himself into an unconscious sleep. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was to analyze things. That's the girls' department.

……………………………………………………………………………

Derek cringed. That window really did hurt.

He sighed loudly. This made Casey unwillingly snap one eye open to shoot a hateful glance at him. But he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were now closed. It was time for _him_ to fake sleep.

Casey took the opportunity to sit up and stretch a bit. She kind of wished she had fallen asleep though, because now George was pulling the car over so they could all get a bite to eat at one of those cheesy fake 50's diners. Casey groaned loudly, Nora sighed, and George just laughed.

"Everyone out! Time for a family dinner. I think we could use one." George bellowed. Even though Derek's eyes were closed, it was quite obvious he was rolling them.

'Family?' Casey cringed harshly. This definitely didn't sound like a good idea.

**Yeeeah, kinda short. Sorry! But hey, better than nothing right? Or hmm maybe you'd prefer nothing. lol  
Ok so, the A/N at the top is a little old. Not THAT old, but I'd just like to add (in case no one heard) that Ash confirmed to me and the people that were on the chat, that there WILL be a 5****th**** season and possibly even two movies. What Jordan wrote in her blog…yeah idk what's up with that. Weeeird. Oh! And just in case "a very Derekus Christmas"**  
**drops our belief in Dasey, Ash said that her and Mike had a say in whether they wanted Dasey or not. So that pretty much means it's happening. Right?  
xo, Christina**  
__

****


	11. The Wheels on the Bus

**He Said She Said**

A/N: So you know what sucks? Trying to understand the opposite sex. That said, I've decided to let out my ongoing frustration with an update. Because…well…I can't find my journal. And it's about time this story got updated! Also, the responses I'm getting for my Dasey Documentary on youtube is awesommmme. So I feel inspired! And while I'm talking about it, go search my name and find the video on youtube if you haven't seen it yet (and you must live under a rock for that to happen) and then give me a response! Because then I would love you forever! Now on with the show…er…story.

**Disclaimer: **People take these things for granted, but youtube is so anal it's actually taking videos off people's channels because of the copyright. Even though we SAY we don't own LwD. People never listen…but just in case they do, I'm putting this up. Don't sue me.

** Chapter 11: The wheels on the bus go round and round**

Casey had been itching to get out of that car since the moment she stepped foot in it. Now all she wanted to do was leave her seatbelt on and will her whole family to go into that stupid diner without her. But of course, no such luck.

With overly dramatic sighs, and a last hateful glance, the sullen teenagers and the rest of the family half walked, half dragged themselves into "Shelly's". Some chick with hair bigger and stiffer than Tracy Turnblad's approached the family, smacking her gum annoyingly and eyeing them as if this were the worst thing she could be doing with her time. "How many?" Her monotonous voice completed the picture of a complete and total fake 50's bitch.

Before Nora could respond, she turned on her heel and started walking toward the booths. "Um…I don't think everyone is gonna fit" The waitress said like a true college scholar, and threw some menus onto two tables. Casey took one look at the tables with a somewhat disgusted face and broke the silence. "I have to pee." Ignoring the grossed out protests, she walked off to the restroom, leaving her family to be swallowed whole by a mutated creation of an era where families didn't have these kinds of problems.

"Get a hold of yourself girl. Just keep your eyes on your plate, and before you know it, you'll be back on the road home. Besides, there are two tables. Just don't sit with Derek. Easy as that." Casey splashed some water on her face, tore her eyes away from the mirror and walked a little more confidently back to her party of six. At first she thought her eyes might be playing tricks on her…surely the angle she was standing at made it seem like there was only one seating option. Oh no… 'What have I done to deserve this? Can you just tell me, please?' Casey thought silently to the heavens as she trudged to the last available seat.

George, Nora, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti had all squeezed themselves into one booth. Casey couldn't make herself fit if she tried. And then she looked to the next table over. Derek sat farthest away from the other table and stared ahead, angry and begrudgingly.

'No problem'. Casey tried to keep her thoughts calm. 'I'll just sit over…uh…' With a quick look around, Casey finally realized how small and busy the diner was. This was the last seat available?! Just peachy…

Why did every event that's been happening have to remind her of their past events in some way? This was getting almost annoying…

………………………………………………………………………………

_Casey wasn't stupid. She saw Derek "sneak" onto the bus the moment he slid through the doors. If he wanted to pretend he was a super spy, that was fine with her. But the second he banged his head into unconsciousness, she was going to get off that bus. If it ever stopped…where _were_ they anyway? Looking out the window, it seemed civilization was quite a distance from this road._

Craning her neck to find a sign through the darkening sky, she hardly felt a slight sinking in the seat to her right. "I figured I'd wait till there was no way you could pull this bus over. Unless you want to avoid me so much, you'd be willing to walk all the way home and ruin your shoes." Casey's back stiffened. She didn't want to turn around. She didn't want to look at him.

"Excuse me, but this seat's taken." Casey said dismissively, face still turned to look out the window. Her eyes weren't really taking any of the scenery in though. She was much too focused on how to get Derek out of the seat he currently possessed. Or, what she really wanted, to get him off the bus entirely.

A massive pothole in the road gave the bus a great lurch and Casey's rigid posture was thrown to the side…straight into Derek's lap. "Aw, so you've been this anxious to see me and I've been hiding in the front seat all this time? No offence Case, but I think you're moving things along a little fast. I know girls can't help themselves, but-"

"Ugh, get off of me!" Casey shoved herself away violently, feeling she had already stayed in that position for three seconds longer than necessary. Derek just rolled his eyes and stretched his arm along the back of the seat. He hoped she didn't notice how much he was rambling just now… only nervous people ramble. Derek did NOT get nervous around anyone. If anything, he was most cocky around Casey McDonald. Just as a precaution, he took the pause in sound as a way to change the topic.

"I wasn't aware we lived on the other side of the universe. Did you have to pick the bus that took 3000 years to get home?" Derek's tone was smooth, arrogant, and back to normal.

"Well you know Derek, no one forced you onto this bus in the first place. Why are you on here anyway? Stalker much?" Casey completely gave up the idea of appearing to look out the window. Her whole body was turned toward him, ready for the next argument. Derek, however, never moved from his casual, laid back position. He simply crossed one leg over the other and sank a little further in his seat.

"Oh, and I suppose you were dying to go back to that hotel and be lectured for five hours? If you didn't have to get screamed at, why should I? Trust me, the last thing I want to do is be within five million kilometers of your breathing space."

"Well, at least we agree on something." Casey smiled bitterly and turned quickly away. Not to pretend to look out the window… just so she wouldn't be distracted by the way he looked. And his arm behind her was really starting to distract her.

"I'm sure becoming accustomed to the misshapen back of your head". Derek's voice had a smile in it. Casey took a deep breath so as not to lash out, before replying. "At least my misshapen head can hold a vital organ called the brain. The only reason all you see is the back of my head is because my eyes can only look at you so long. The burning is almost unbearable."

She ground her teeth together when she heard him chuckle under his breath. This was funny to him? They were on a bus home, in the middle of nowhere, and they were probably going to be grounded for the rest of their natural born lives when they got home. Oh yes, a perfect time to just laugh it up.

"Do you have to sit here?" Casey might've changed the topic for lack of a response, but she never took the venom out of her voice. "The whole bus is practically empty and even though you can't stand to be in my breathing space, here you are, hogging up all the oxygen."

"Well, fine then. Your wish is my command your majesty." With a deep bow, he rose up and began to walk away…to the seat directly behind her. "You see Case, I'm a 'back of the bus' sort of guy. So if anyone needs to move, it's you"

With the tone equal to a child's and the retort to match, Casey shouted back "I was here first!" Realizing how stupid that sounded, she simply snapped her mouth shut and turned around. No way was Derek going to get to her. He was basically just being an attention whore. She would simply turn around, stare straight ahead, and not acknowledge the heap of mass traveling behind her.

"Well, who could argue with that?" Derek said sarcastically, suppressing a laugh. But all that followed was silence. "Oh, so along with your pre-school remarks, you've developed a pre-school attitude? Fine. Sit there and pout. It's your trademark comeback after all." Casey wanted so badly to turn around and give him a taste of his own medicine. But this would only defeat her silence treatment, and right now she thought it was for the best. It was the only thing she could do to bug him the most really.

An almost comforting silence filled the air for close to an hour. Passengers were sleeping, the engine was quietly thrumming and …Derek was singing? "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bu-"

"Do you mind?" Casey called loudly from the seat ahead, still fighting the urge to turn around.

"Not at all your grace!" Derek called in a sarcastic politeness as he continued right where he left off. "…All through the town. The princess on the bus goes whine, whine, whine. Whine, whine, whi-"

"Deeerrreeek" Derek could practically hear Casey's teeth clenching together. This must've been killing her. She hadn't produced a full comeback in almost an hour.

"Don't get bent out of shape Case, I'll be here all night. Now where was I…" "Oh!" Casey yelped and jumped from her seat. The bus was finally going through the town. She would totally risk walking this distance home. Anything to get away from HIM. Yanking the cord for the bus to stop, the bus driver slowly pulled over toward a local store. Casey ran towards the front of the bus and practically forced the doors open. Derek was right on her heels.

"You didn't even stay for my encore!" Derek walked backwards in front of her, trying to imitate his best pout. That was it. Casey stopped, took a deep breath in, and yelled loud enough for Derek to get it through his brain, but not loud enough to be arrested for disturbing the peace, "STOP. FOLLOWING. ME." With every word she moved herself closer to him, trying to emphasize the point. Her toes were touching his.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest and tried to make his expression serious. "Now Casey, don't-" but Casey wasn't finished ranting. "And stop using that patronizing voice with me! You're not my father! You're not even related to me! If you were, I probably would've bought a gun and a bullet the day I knew how to crawl. Because no brother of mine could possibly be this horrible, cruel, and somehow manage to get a reaction out of me every time! I'm better than this. I'm better than you. I'm better than these stupid petty arguments we have where you want to pretend all we do is fight, because we hate each other so much. Did you ever stop to think that people could argue with such passion for a totally different reason?"

Derek waited till he was sure she wasn't going to start yelling again, and then he spoke. "Um…Casey, what are you talking about?" Casey looked away. What WAS she talking about? Other reasons for fighting? She wasn't making any sense. And all her raging had left her dizzy. Stumbling, she chose a direction and began to walk.  


"_I think I have a better shortcut back to the house. I mean, we could take your direction, but we'd have to circle the entire globe first." Damn Derek and his last words. But he was right. And as usual, she was powerless to stop herself from turning around and heading back in the direction of that shudderingly irresistible voice._

They walked in silence. Derek took the lead, still showing no signs of even registering what Casey had said. She was sort of glad for that. She didn't really mean all of it. Except for never wanting to be related to Derek. That would just be… unbearable. For lack of a better word.

Casey didn't even realize where they were till she ran smack into Derek's cold, leather covered back. "I know you're eager to get inside Klutzilla, but you're not a superhero. You're going to have to walk around solid objects such as myself to get to the door." Only half listening to him, Casey ran up the steps and reached for the door.

With a surprising gasp, Casey realized the door was open when it shouldn't have been. And then, much to her and Derek's absolute dread, their parents stood on the threshold, waiting with crossed arms and sullen faces.

Too make a long story short, the evening revolved around the parents yelling out incoherent sentences, unable to believe their kids could act so irresponsibly twice in a row. Derek and Casey had wondered about their punishments… eternal grounding? Community service and a Juvi sentence? The death sentence? But no…somehow Nora and George had come to a last resort decision… a daytime talk show.

……………………………………………………………………………………

"Riding on a bus for six hours of torture not enough for you? Trade seats with Lizzie or something." Casey didn't even so much as glance at him as she took her seat across from Derek.

"You think I haven't tried to bribe someone out of their seat yet? I'd rather eat on the ground. It'd be a waterbed compared to sitting on Casey's high horse."

"That didn't even make sense. Just…" Casey sighed and cast her eyes downward. She looked genuinely sad. "Just act like you're invisible for once? Don't worry… I'll do the same." Derek didn't seem to have a problem with that… for the moment. Halfway through the dining process, a loud thunder of claps broke out through the diner and something big and on fire was headed in their direction.

(Here's the part where you add the most annoying restaurant themed birthday song you can think of)

The waiters gathered around the table, singing with smiles plastered on their face that were faker than Michael Jackson's nose job. A huge sundae with a sparking candle was placed between Derek and Casey, and the waiters parted like the Red Sea, dragging themselves back to whatever dull tasks they were performing before having to humiliate themselves…and Derek and Casey.

Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti were laughing their heads off at the next table and George and Nora smiled and laughed at them apologetically. "You two were looking way too sullen and moody. And the only time we've seen you two happy together is when a birthday is involved. So…um…surprise?" Nora smiled weakly and Derek and Casey just groaned.

A spark from the candle jumped out and hit Casey's arm. "Ow. Stupid fire hazards…this place is going to go up in flames with all this hairspray floating in the air." Casey was basically muttering to herself. Derek didn't say anything, but the look on his face was in agreement. They both leaned forward at the same time to blow out the candle.

The candle went out, but Casey still felt like sparks were landing on her arm. Looking down she saw Derek's hand was resting on her forearm, and letting her eyes drift back up, she saw they had leaned all too close to blow the candle out.

Staring at each other for what seemed to be 6000 years, Derek and Casey jumped a mile in the air when the waitress slammed down their check on the table. "Get a room" she muttered between gum smacking and stalked off to annoy more customers.

Casey never stopped staring at Derek. Except now her expression had gone from surprised and amused, to horrified. Casey jumped out of her seat and made sure her family was getting up before she threw herself outside and into the van. The sooner she got home, the sooner she could hide in her room all day. She just needed to remind her mother to buy a deadbolt for her door to keep out certain…distractions.

H**HH ****urrayyyyy for updates. Ok so mostly the reason for this is to shamelessly advertise my dasey documentary and to vent because guys just suck so much sometimes. But I also updated because I love dasey so much and was having ff withdrawls. So there you go. I don't think it was much…but it was something, right? Geez, screw the notes I've been taking to add to this story. It always takes a life of it's own. And yeah, I could've made some parts juicier…I bet you thought they would be with the empty bus and all right? But no…the good stuff comes later. Because I'm a taunting author. Don't you just love me?  
xo, Christina**


	12. Life in a Glass House

**He Said She Said**

**A/N: **Can we just skip over the part of me apologizing profusely that it's been almost a year since I updated and probably no one remembers this story, but I have to finish it anyway? Ok good. Oh and um go to my youtube. Same s/n. Watch the newest video. Please. Thanks. Ok. Oh oh, and I realized that in the last chapter, I forgot to switch from italics to regular font... but I can't be bothered to fix it. Just know that when Casey tells Derek to switch seats with Lizzie, it's back to present day. lol

**Disclaimer: **We're still doing these? Really?

**Chapter 12: Life in a Glass House**

The alarm clock on Casey's bedside table had been ringing incessantly for the past three minutes now, but Casey didn't pay it any attention. She'd have to have gone to sleep last night in order for it to wake her up. She currently sat upright on the edge of her bed, staring at the calendar on the wall.

Had it really been an entire week since that dreadful talk show? Was today really the first day back to school after Spring break? Had she really not spoken a word to Derek in any of the days that had passed that awkward dining experience? The answer to all these questions was simply, yes.

Today she'd be faced with the worst experience yet to come. Her peers. Everyone had seen the show by this time, she was sure of it. Emily was causing the phone to ring off the hook, but Casey didn't even have the guts to pick up. She stayed in her own solitude, quietly praying that if she ignored it long enough, the entire situation would pass and everyone would simply forget. Okay... sure.

"Would you shut that thing up already? You know how I feel about getting up on time for school." Derek's voice came muffled through the wall and Casey flinched slightly before reaching out to turn the alarm off. Just because she had managed to avoid verbally addressing him, didn't mean he stopped trying to talk to/annoy her. But that was just it. Casey would have no problem talking to Derek... if he would act like a decent human being. So for now, the silent treatment remained.

In a complete trance, totally fixated on how each student in her school might react, Casey did her best to get ready, finally shuffling down the stairs when she seemed somewhat presentable. 'Just hold it together, Casey. Don't stop in the halls. Just get to your classes. And get home. How hard is that?' Casey scoffed aloud to herself as if it were the simplest plan in the world and was almost convinced she'd make it, until she turned the corner and walked into the kitchen.

He always sat in the same stool. In plain sight. Staring her down, as if it would finally be the day he could get her to talk. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. How long could one go without talking to someone you were forced to live with? She would be off to university eventually, so... about a year? Could be worse.

But Casey had crafted a sort of skill for avoiding Derek at this point. She never broke her stride, although her stomach was doing back flips. That was the key thing. Never stop or pause, because if she did, Derek had a chance to slip in an action or comment, and then there would be no going back. She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bagel, picked her bag up off the counter, and quickly walked to the back door. Ignoring the protests of how she had taken the only bagel left in the kitchen, she closed to door firmly behind her and, again, not pausing, she strode purposefully in the direction of school.

Any minute now, she'd hear it. She'd hear the door click open and fast-paced footsteps behind her. After all, this was one of his first chances to talk to her alone... sort of. Casey wasn't kidding about the whole deadbolt-on-the-door ordeal. She wasn't going to risk Derek barging into her room like he always did. So the next day that she had arrived home from the show, she bought a doorknob with a firm lock and installed it herself. So Derek had literally no chances at all to approach her. She was practically holed up in a bunker all week.

And there it was. Extremely faint, but she wasn't deaf. He couldn't sneak up, she had been listening specifically for him. And when she heard his failed attempt to try and noiselessly open the back door, she had quickened her pace immensely. Derek kept his footsteps timed precisely with hers. This annoyed the ever-living out of Casey. It was time for a short cut.

Casey slyly shifted her eyes to her left before bringing them straight back to the front. His shadow was close, not that it surprised her. He was always faster. Did he not realize she had just taken a sharp right in the opposite direction of school? Surely this would confuse him enough to slow down and inspect his surroundings. But apparently, Derek had learned that if he stopped, Casey wouldn't, so he had to keep going. Damn him.

She figured out almost immediately that her plan was a bust. Now Casey didn't even recognize the street she was on, much less where she would go from here. How was she supposed to get to school on time now? It would be so much easier to lose a person in a car. But on foot? Impossible. Oh, this was not good. Adios perfect attendance.

"You do realize this is the third time we've passed that tree, right?" Casey's steps faltered a bit. He sounded closer than she thought. Although it was a stretch to pretend she didn't just hear him speak, that's exactly what Casey did. She dismissed the voice and kept walking. A little slower and unsure, but still moving. "Fine then. I guess you've taken a new liking to skipping school."

Casey glared ahead, and for once wished she could turn around and glare straight at his face. Maybe even hard enough to burn a hole in it. It was all his fault she'd be late. Why'd he have to leave the house on time? She never had to worry about walking to school with him before, because he always had to leave a half hour late. And now, she was forced to walk blindly into unknown neighborhoods and the only thing she was worried about was losing the rhythm of her steps and ending up face to face with someone she was not ready to talk to. About anything that had happened. Ever.

Casey made a hurried left turn and was suddenly forced to do the one thing she had managed not to. She stopped. Now she was a goner for sure. A fence had been built up in the middle of the road she had chosen to turn on, ultimately trying to turn in the direction of the first period bell she heard ringing in the distance. But as luck would have it, there was heavy construction being done on this narrow road she had to choose. Great. And if she turned around, well, there was no way she could dodge around him in this space. Chain fences to yards on her left, cars against the curb on her right.

"And all this time I thought you were avoiding me. You just wanted a chance to get me alone! A construction site, Case? Not exactly a cafe lounge atmosphere, but- um, are you gonna turn around?" Derek felt rather idiotic talking to Casey's back. Casey felt just as idiotic, standing there, staring at a fence. Even the deaf and dumb act wouldn't help her now. She had to plan her way out of this. She recognized the street on the other side of the construction site. If she could backtrack a few streets, she could find school with no problem. But how? Punch him and run? Casey let out a bitter laugh.

"What's so funny?" Derek was becoming a little exhausted trying to keep up with Casey's strange actions.

Finally, Casey turned around, and Derek's breath caught a little. He hadn't been able to look her straight in the eye for days. Casey let out a defeated sigh, and looked away uncomfortably from his gaze. "Can I pass?"

"Sure. I'll let you just walk by after I followed you twelve blocks to the middle of nowhere for God knows what reason. Could you at least pretend I exist for five seconds?" Derek couldn't help but add a little sarcasm. However, he wanted to cut to the chase now. Especially when he had her cornered.

"Well if I can't pass, you want to lead me in the direction of school? I can't afford to miss second period."

"No can do. I don't even know where the hell you've taken us." Derek stared at their strange surrounding before landing back to Casey.

"Get out of the way."

"Make me."

"Maybe I will."

"Bring it on, McDonald." Derek could feel the smile spreading across his face. Sure, this was getting them nowhere, but this was the first rise he had gotten out of her in so long. He almost forgot how nice it was to watch her cheeks flush red with anger. It was nice to see _anything _from Casey these days. She was always either in her room avoiding him, or sitting mute at the dining room table, averting her eyes and avoiding him.

"Derek." Casey's voice was becoming low and angry.

"Derek? Casey?"

They simultaneously turned in the directions of their names. Sam was shutting his front door behind him as he looked confusedly between the two people who were about to battle it out in front of his house. Derek winced and chanced a brief look back at Casey. She was glaring daggers at him. Ok, so he might've lied about not knowing the surroundings. But she didn't expect him to just lead her to school and let them go on ignoring each other did she?

"You're right. No idea where we are." Casey seethed before forcing a smile and turning to greet Sam. "Hey you! Um, surprise first-day-walk back to school?"

"Uh, sure. I just didn't expect to see you guys within breathing distance of each other. Ever again." It was clear from his face and his tone that he was referring to the major fallout that appeared on TV screens across the nation. Casey grimaced, knowing that this was just the tip of the iceberg. At least Sam was a nice enough guy to not bring up any specific awkward points like she knew the kids at school were going to.

"Damn those reality shows and their over-dramatizations right? Anyway, let's go." Derek looped his arms around their necks and dragged them back to the direction of school. Casey nearly dislocated his shoulder, removing his arm so quickly from her. Derek sighed inwardly from the loss of contact and then cursed Sam's timing in his head. So much for a nice physical fight for old time's sake. That was as close as he would get.

The moment Casey spotted the double doors, she sprinted for them, hurling herself inside and going straight to the attendance office with every intention of arguing her way into an excused late slip. She forgot for a split second that this place was no safe haven. This was ground zero for adding to her torture. She slowly became aware of this as she passed the accusing eyes of the late-arrivals that were turning from their lockers. Walking even faster, she finally reached the door and stepped inside, closing it firmly behind her. Taking a deep breath, she walked to the counter and explained as briefly as possible her reasons for being late. Casey, being the model student she was, of course had no problem. She thanked the woman and turned around only to find herself staring at a barrier. The door she had come in. The door that was protecting her from the outside world of students. The only direction she was forced to take. Ugh, why couldn't she dissolve into the unclean and grimy hardwood floors?

Derek took a much slower approach to class than Casey. He was in no hurry to get anywhere in particular. He had managed to shake Sam at the entrance as Sam had rambled something about dying if he was late for Mr. Alders class one more time. The halls were empty, give or take a student or two, who Derek could practically feel staring him down. One look to those unfortunate few however, and they went scurrying off to class, heads down and tails between their legs. This was going to be a long day.

Casey jumped when the lunch bell rang. Had she really survived her first four classes? It didn't feel like it. All that staring and giggling and note-passing... she had died of humiliation somewhere in the duration of second period. Luckily, they were whispering quiet enough so she didn't have to hear specific insults. But she had the general idea in her head... and that was good enough. Well, bad enough anyway.

Every time a dismissal bell rang, Casey couldn't seem to get out the door fast enough. This time, she decided to wait for everyone to clear out. Maybe she could eat her lunch in Miss Campbell's room. She had just aced the quiz she'd taken in this class. How could Miss Campbell say no to her best student?

"Miss Campbell, where are you going?" Casey stared wide-eyed as her teacher and last resort began to pick up her things and leave the classroom.

"To lunch, of course, Casey. Why don't you do the same? You look like you could use a little food in your stomach. You seem a little ill".

"But-"

"See you tomorrow!" Miss Campbell was already out the door.

Great. There she sat, pathetically, in an empty classroom, alone, surrounded by three dingy depressing walls and a solid glass wall looking out to the hallway. Kids filed past in such massive groups that it was like watching a cattle herd. But cattle didn't all turn to stare at you like these did. Even if they were subtle about it, Casey could still notice them peering out of the corner of their eye. "Look at the freak in the glass bubble." She could hear them now.  
"How disgusting can you be to make out with your own stepbrother?"  
"Hello, her stepbrother is _Derek Venturi."_  
"Yeah, but what would he want with a loser like her? I mean, God, look at her."  
Casey clasped her hands over her ears and silently prayed the voices would tune out. The whispering had stopped. People were now talking. The circle of hell had opened.

It wasn't till Casey had sunk so low that she was nearly falling out of her chair when she realized the noise had ceased. She sat back up, uncovered her ears, and willed herself to take a deep breath before letting her head fall back to the desk. Only another twenty minutes and she'd be hearing it all over again. It was unbearable.

A loud knock on the glass door shot Casey a foot in the air. 'Ignore them. Whoever it is. God, please go away.' Casey thought to herself. But then, she heard the handle slide and the door swing open before latching back into place. She was definitely not alone anymore. And the person definitely didn't hear her silent pleading for them to leave.

"Ugh, look, I know you want a Barbara Walter's special from me or maybe just a spit ball target, but I'm really not in the mood, so can you just wait until-" Casey turned warily to confront the attacker and stopped. Of course, who else would it be.

"I can only use you as a spit ball target when you're asleep. You tend not to move as much."

"What I just said applies to you too. Especially to you."

"Wow, that's new to me. So, what are you doing in here? Keening?" Derek took a disinterested look around the room, averting his eyes from Casey. She groaned. The pretend-I-don't-care act was so played out.

"Actually, I didn't feel like being ripped limb from limb by the public today, no thanks to you. Imagine that." Casey kept turning so she wouldn't have to face him. Why couldn't he just stand still?

"No thanks to me? Well, you caught me. I signed up for that show in a heartbeat. I just love public humiliation to myself."

"To YOU? Everyone worships the disgusting ground you walk on. No one's even giving you a second thought. You can't do wrong in their eyes. You're the great and powerful Derek. And me? I'm a lab rat on display. And it's because of you. You went too far. You pushed me too far on that show, Derek. People don't exactly look up to you when you publicly admit to kissing your stepbrother! They probably think I'm some infatuated freak! And you'd let them go on thinking it!"

Derek didn't respond. He had finally stopped pacing and was half leaning, half sitting on the table of a desk two seats behind Casey. Truth was, that was the most she had said in a week. It momentarily stunned him. He hadn't come in here expecting her to talk. He was searching the hallways for a place to hideout when he caught her sulking in here alone. He couldn't just pass by.

He felt a twinge of guilt. She was right in terms of who stood where on the social ladder. She would get the brunt of the consequences about ten times worse than he would. Some jerk today had even had the nerve to high five Derek in the hallway, congratulating him on crossing the boundary into uncharted make out territory. Like it was some honor to get your stepsister to kiss you. And then they turn around and ridicule the person on the other end of that kiss? Derek smiled to himself. He had reached up for the high five and brought his knee up when he got a hold of the guy's hand. He left the asshole doubled over on the floor of the hallway. Hope the damage was permanent.

"I know. It's just hilarious to you." He could practically hear Casey fighting back tears. No, no, no. He wasn't laughing at her! So why couldn't he speak? He let the smile fade from his face and just remained sitting there as she turned her back to him once again. He had to do something. But everything in his body froze up. He can't deal with the tears. Just please God, anything but that.

Derek stood up and faced the opposite wall. Ah, much better. "Casey," he began, able to speak without her clouding up his vision. "I wasn't laughing. You just gotta ignore those people. They'll be onto the next topic tomorrow." Not exactly true, but now wasn't the time for brutal honesty.

Casey just scoffed, but didn't move from her position. All of a sudden, he wished more than anything she'd just turn around and look at him. He knew she had restrained the crying and was just avoiding him again. Why the hell was she so difficult? He got up and began walking again, slowly, around to the front side of her desk. And of course, she swung herself around on her seat, and faced away.

"Casey."

Nothing. He took a few steps towards her rather than around her now. She slid closer to the edge of her chair.

"Casey."

Derek found himself directly behind her. He was surprised she hadn't moved to another desk. Or had he spoken too soon? She was starting to stand up...

"What, can't hold your own in arguments anymore? About time you just gave up. But honestly, you're going to make this boring." Idiot. Words just poured from his mouth on their own.

Casey's back stiffened. This was either one of two indications. She was either about to turn around and scream at him till she was blue in the mouth, or she was going to collapse in a puddle of tears and run out the door. Derek kept his fingers crossed for the first option.

When Casey finally turned around, her expression wasn't what he anticipated. If you could call that an expression. Her face was unreadable. Blank. "What are you doing in here? You always eat lunch with Sam."

Oh, so now she wanted a civilized conversation? So easy, trying to keep up with this one. "I'm getting there... what do you care what I do with my time? Maybe you just looked so pathetic and lifeless in here, I had to come in and make sure you hadn't died. How would I explain that to Nora?"

"Oh, so you'd actually care. Don't worry. I'm sure you'd find a good _lie _to tell her."

"I pride myself on the talent, thank you." There was the word vomit again. His instincts never changed. 'Get that rise out of Casey. Make her hate you. Make her angry. Do it Derek, do it.'

"Really? I pride you on being an asshole."

"Why? You're the one that told everyone. I don't know how you think you can pin that on me. I'm clean on this one." Derek raised his hands innocently, shrugging at her as if he had no control over what kind of idiot she made of herself.

"Oh, of course. It's not like you kissed me and then denied it or anything."

"Is that what you're so upset about? Because I didn't feel like explaining the real reason for what we were doing to Monica?"

"Veronica."

"Same thing."

"What was the reason then Derek? Tell me, I'd love to know what lie comes out of your mouth next."

Derek opened his mouth to retort. He knew what he wanted to say. Another sarcastic quip to keep the argument going. After all, he couldn't tell her the reason. She would either think he was nuts or laugh hysterically at him. But this was just an endless game of nowhere. And she was keeping it up just as much as he was. There were plenty of questions he had for her that she would avoid. So why couldn't he do the same?

Finally, Derek just scoffed at her and turned to leave. He didn't have time for this. If she wanted to wallow in pity by herself, then fine. But she had reduced him to feeling like such a waste of space the last few days, that it was hard to be around her anymore, no matter how much he wanted to be. He was almost there. His hand was on the door.

No.

Derek spun back around. He was walking. There was a definite purpose to the direction he was walking in. He wasn't even sure he comprehended what he was about to do. In several strides he had found himself back in his original position, Casey not having moved from where she stood. He lifted his hand, grabbed her shoulder, and pushed her around to face him. She didn't even seem to try and resist what he was doing.

Casey looked straight at him, a thousand questions screaming from her eyes, but he didn't feel like answering them. Not in the traditional sense.

"Derek-"

"Stop. Casey, look-"

"No. You stop. I don't wanna do this right now."

"Yeah, it's never a good time for you is it? Tough."

"Derek."

"Casey."

"Der-_ek._"

"...Casey..."

She didn't seem to notice Derek had managed to close the gap between them fairly quickly. Her mind suddenly flipped upside down, her head was spinning, she couldn't tell what was down and what was up. She had to get a control of the situation. Push him away. Derek just grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her sides. She wasn't getting rid of him this time. Since when did Derek back down from a fight?

Her mind was still racing, she didn't need this right now. She didn't need him to do this to her again. But her will to battle was slipping fast. He was there, holding onto her, inches away and she was powerless to do anything about it. He was leaning in. Her will to fight, the barrier she put up, it was all collapsing with every centimeter that disappeared between them...

"Are we interrupting some sibling bonding right now?"

Casey gained back the senses she had lost and forced herself out of Derek's grip, turning toward the door.

Lunch was over. The hallways were flooded once again, only at more of a stand still. As in, everyone had come to stand still at the doorway of Miss Campbell's classroom, watching the scene unfold before them. Giggling was erupting from all ends of the small crowd now. Their cover was blown, they could laugh outright now.

Derek closed his eyes in complete annoyance before he turned for a split second to see Casey walk toward the door and push herself into the hallway. He could tell she wasn't trying to hold the tears in anymore.  
**  
Ok. Here's your homework assignment. Brutal. Honesty. Meaning you guys, review, ok? What will Derek do? Is he gonna pull out his nine and bust a cap? We'll see. But not if you don't review! Wow... it feels so weird to write again. Love it. Sigh, thanks Dan.**

**P.S. Sorry I didn't realize FF was stupid and somehow uploaded it without any paragraphs or breaks. LAME. So I'm reuploading it. Hope it works! Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm writing the next chapter this week.**

**  
xo, Christina  
**


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